


Two Components

by Vaarin



Category: Pride and Prejudice (1995), Pride and Prejudice (2005), Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Modern Era, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 02:36:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 61,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20940899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vaarin/pseuds/Vaarin
Summary: Modern marriage of convenience plot where Elizabeth and Darcy must travel to Yemen, together at odds. Looking for a stolen high-tech Military explosive, the thief and a missing Bennet sister.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Embarrassing Moments 

"Fucking shit!"

‘Well, nothing to do but to wait until the grinder was finished before entering the room and start anew,’ Elizabeth thought, blessedly oblivious to the footsteps entering from behind...

Elizabeth slipped back into the room to cut a new piece of the hockey puck, weigh it and cut it into smaller pieces before putting it in the grinder.  
Remembering this time, to put in the beaker to collect the finished product. She push start and sped out of the room to watch through the explosion-proof glass in the door.   
Her luck was about to run out though and she collided with a very tall, manly chest, right outside the door. 

"Sorry," she exclaimed while raising her eyes to the face of the bodily obstacle. 

Much closer than considered comfortable, stood the most handsome piece of male flesh she had ever seen...   
Looking down at her with a significant frown between his eyebrows. 

Involuntarily taking a step back and musing on the luck of meeting this sublime specimen of man in a threadbare lab coat, goggles, no makeup and her hair in a dishevelled bun on the top of her head...   
Before wondering what of her previous outburst he might have heard.  
An unwelcome, familiar voice was coming from behind said specimen of man. 

"Miss Bennet, this is not your job is it!" 

The shrill voice of the grand dame herself, CEO of Lebon Explosive Company, Lady Catherine de Bourgh was chastising her and the manly tower moved to the side.

"Where is Charlotte? Shouldn't you be researching something? I don't pay your wages to do the lab technicians job!" 

"I am researching but I had to wait until the HPLC* had finished its run when the hockey pu... I mean M7 arrived and since Charlotte was having a late lunch, I thought I should get started on the vacuuming of the fluids.   
You know it's urgent since the production are awaiting the results in order to proceed.  
Give me a minute to finish and I will be happy to help you Lady Catherine and..." 

Waving her hands towards the silent, herculean hunk.   
She redirected her hand to greet him properly with a handshake and pronouncing:

"Hi! I am Elizabeth Bennet in the research and development department."

"How is the Russian spy project going?" 

Charlotte chose that moment to resurface from lunch with her head stuck in her purse, frantically searching for her office keys, not noticing the illustrious company.

"Charlotte, glad you are back. I have just ground the M7, it is ready for the vacuum cabinet." 

Charlotte glanced into the room and noticed the batch on the floor. 

“One for the floor as well I can see, you really are so easily distracted you could be mistaken for a professor..." 

"Yes, I will keep that in mind Charlotte for further educational possibilities. Now, if you will excuse me? I must return to the HPLC to check my results." 

Elizabeth trailed down the long corridor, cursing Charlotte's impertinence and the general bad luck of the day.   
Aware that she had not been appraised of the intriguing male's name.   
The last drop in the beaker would be if the run on the HPLC was ruined. 

The run was indeed finished with exciting results. She clapped in sheer glee and headed towards her office to calculate the exact amounts she had found.

Skipping merrily to the department's boss office, Edward Gardiner, her uncle, and the reason for her early employment in a high position at such a young age.   
He had pleaded her case and she was allowed to work while attending school, to finish her degree in chemical engineering.

"Any luck with your assignment?" Uncle Edward asked unnecessarily, the look upon her face spoke volumes.

"Yes!   
Remember Tuva, the Norwegian exchange student my father invited years ago?   
She worked on a plant who produced an irregular form of dynamite for, particularly difficult conditions.   
The plant is closed now and she was snapped up by an international pharmaceutical company but I visited her last summer and I remember something she told me..."

"Yes, I remember her vaguely. Your point is?"

"The HPLC results shows the presence of both nitroglycerin and nitroglycol.   
The freezing point of both are rather high and above zero degree Celsius. But when combined the freezing point drops significantly. Tuva told me about a special dynamite they produced to build the Oslofjord tunnel.   
Since the tunnel was located beneath sea level it was a very cold climate to work in and required a very specific explosive to detonate.   
This particular mixture would tolerate temperature down to approximately 35 degrees below zero which again indicated that the Russians were either blowing up the Siberian tundra or they were creating an underwater tunnel...   
Take your pick, I will leave the speculation to you.   
By the way, the IR spec was nothing out of the ordinary. I will run the atom abs now, on the salts but I am not expecting anything extraordinary. Any questions before I'm out of here?"

"Yes, what exactly is a hockey puck?" Said a deep, baritone voice from behind (the kind of voice that would make your knees grow weak whilst reading the telephone directory). Elizabeth spun around and faced the devastatingly handsome man from the previous encounter.

"It's not actually a hockey puck of course", she stated flatly. 

"It's a sample from the ballistic department. If the acetone level is according to spec it will be pressed into long tubes to be used as rocket fuel. It just looks like a hockey puck..." 

"Have you been introduced Elizabeth?" She shook her head in denial.

"This is Fitzwilliam Darcy, Lady Catherine's nephew. He will be covering for the grand dame until a more permanent solution can be found. She wants to have more time off vacationing... And eventually, retire.”

"So the facelift was just a rumour then?" She heard a low chuckle from behind as she had turned to face her uncle again. 

"Mr Darcy, this is our wonder child, Elizabeth Bennet who also happens to be my niece. She is currently on a combined work and school program, she has one full day of school a week and work the remaining four. In addition, she takes several evening classes to complete her degree in chemical engineering. If she will leave it at that, hasn't been decided yet."

‘Great, wonder child. Now the mouth-watering piece of candy would perceive her as a child...’

"How are you holding up Lizzy, your schedule does not leave much time to be social or carousing about?" 

Elizabeth snorted, typical of her uncle to humiliate her in front of her bosses nephew and a potential new boss as well. 

Frankly, she had managed the task of humiliating herself admirably, to the degree of utter mortification, no help needed in that department... 

Gardiner saw Elizabeth's usually plump lips set into a fine line, took the hint and changed the subject.

"Well, there will be an occasion for you to exhibit some of those expensive stilettos you collect but never use, in three weeks time...   
There will be a celebration of the grand Dame's twenty-five years as head of the company which will be celebrated with dinner and dancing.   
Free drinks and all. Bye the way, maybe you should refrain from the alcoholic beverages, knowing how little you can hold..."

Elizabeth groaned, uncle certainly had it in for her today.

"I can hold my liquor, alright!" 

"Not in my experience you don't! I remember a certain barbecue..." Gardiner said with a twinkle in his eyes. 

"I said I can hold it, I said nothing about drinking it!" Elizabeth muttered something inaudible and practically ran out of the office, fire blazing from her eyes. 

"Fine, no chance of making a favourable impression on the corporate stud. Not that she had a chance in hell anyway but it would have been nice with some new material for her night-time fantasies...   
Of course, nothing more humiliating could possibly be added to the abundance this day had concocted. That was her firm believe until glancing down to her shoes.  
Great, crocs...   
Not the fancy, inbuilt platform, sneakers that compensated for the shortcomings of her drop from butt to floor with the much-needed centimetres." 

Heading into the atomic abs lab, at least she would be left in peace there, everybody shunned the room because of the highly explosive gas acetylene that were used to drive the flame.   
Rather peculiar really, regarding the nature of the plant’s production.

Finally, the day ended without further mishaps and Elizabeth went home, curled up in the big wingback chair by the fireplace with a cup of tea in her hands, sighing over the events of the day. No peace and quiet for reflection was to be had though, the rest of her family were at home.

***

The next day went blissfully uneventful until lunch...   
Strolling with her confidence back in place, Elizabeth entered the cafeteria of Lebon Explosive Company only to discover Mr Darcy at her favourite table, by the window, with the sea view...   
He was not alone. Opposite of him sat a red-headed, merry looking, slightly younger guy. Another man she hadn't seen before. 

Jane was nowhere to be seen so she picked up a newspaper to peruse while waiting for Jane. Not deliberately trying to eavesdrop but she was none the less...

"Have you met the head of human resources yet Darcy? She's an angel." The newcomer pronounced dreamily.

"Yes, I have met her. Quite beautiful but she smiles too much..." 

"Honestly Darcy. I have never met anyone as finicky as you when the ladies are concerned. You are going to wake up an grumpy old man one day, entirely alone, regretting all the lovely ladies you never spared a second glance." 

"It isn't gold everything that shimmers you know." Darcy looked a little miffed. 

“I do but sometimes the gold doesn't shimmer." 

Elizabeth choked down a snort, it was obviously the day for the lame proverbs.  
The newcomer looked up an discovered Elizabeth, discreetly pointing her out to Darcy. 

"Isn't that Jane's sister? She’s one of the girls from Jane’s screensaver.  
Let's ask her to join us, perhaps she's waiting for Jane... We could have a double lunch date with the enchanting sisters?" 

The newcomer was grinning widely for a few seconds. Mr Darcy looked at her briefly and stated.

"She's half-decent but not in my league. She looks like a miniature of the nutty professor." 

Elizabeth could hear the newcomer gasp while swallowing hard to repress her own, only to be saved by Jane's timely arrival. 

"Lizzy, there you are. I thought you were waiting for me at the office." 

"I was but you were late as usual so I decided to kill some time with the news while waiting. Let's grab something to eat, I'm starving." 

Moving swiftly away from the offensive gentlemen, they stocked their trays with edibles and searched for an empty table, Elizabeth consciously trying to avoid the window row, Jane steering decidedly towards it.   
Jane won the tug-of-war, Elizabeth felt a small victory in landing the chair with her back to the insulting gentleman, not in the mood for polite pleasantries.

"Oh, I forgot my teabag. Can I get you anything while I'm up Lizzy?" 

Elizabeth suspected she had forgot on purpose to get another chance to swipe by the gentlemen behind and to flash them one of her brilliant smiles. 

"Yes, I’d like some nuts thanks. I'm in the mood for cracking some. Pistachios, the ones with the shell on... Makes you eat less since your fingers get sore after about ten..." 

"Why, are you dieting, Lizzy?" 

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous, why would I be dieting Jane?"

"My thoughts exactly, any less of you and you could hide behind a lamppost undetected." 

"Thank you, Jane, for pointing that out, any more ridiculous notions you might like to add before bringing me my nuts?"

Elizabeth glared at Jane with one challengingly lifted eyebrow. Jane giggled and could not stop herself from adding...

"Well, there are a feature who would stick out... Your curious nose." 

"Heavens Jane!" 

"Okay, I'm walking Lizzy." 

Jane held her hands up in mock surrender and glided elegantly away but was back within a blink of an eye. Elizabeth snapped the nuts out of her hands and started cracking them, feeling a little bit better for the joy of destructing something while pondering the idea of cracking the nuts of the idiot behind her.

"My, you are in a bad mood today Lizzy, have your courses come early?"

"No!"

“I didn't think so, we are usually synchronized and mine haven't come yet..."

“Jane! Change of topic please." Elizabeth looked exasperated at her prattling sister.

"Lizzy! Good, I caught you before you left." 

Charlotte was approaching, balancing a tray. 

"There is a ship with glycol coming in..."

"Yes!"

"Wait until you have all the facts before you answer Lizzy. It's probably going to dock at 2 am, Sunday night, which means we need to start up the lab at midnight..." 

"It's still a yes Charlotte. I have a pair of Christian Louboutin with my name on it at the shoe store. This will get me the funds to obtain them. Besides, it's been a while since I've been cursed at in Italian or maybe it was Polish the last time... Why aren't Tommy taking this delicious opportunity for some overtime?" 

"I thought you could tell if it was Italian Lizzy, didn't you take some lessons? By the way, Tommy has a date..." 

"With a woman?"

"Yes, Lizzy."

"One that is breathing?" 

"Yes Lizzy, I think that's a must, don't you?" 

"Well, she could be inflatable," Elizabeth muttered. 

"Hardly need to hold off a Saturday night for that, what's your problem with Tommy by the way." 

"Oh, nothing he is just so shy. I didn't think he could muster the gut to ask anybody out, that's all.   
The Italian course I've been taking is to better understand the music I listen to, not likely to contain swearing, I assure you.   
Gees, I got to run, bye ladies." 

"Wait a minute Lizzy, what new shoes... The spiked ones?" 

"Yes, the spiked ones..." 

"So the black Audrey Hepburn number is coming out of your closet at last. How long has it been there, two years? What's the occasion. Oh, the company Gala in three weeks?" 

"Yes." 

“Lovely to get so many yesses from you Lizzy, are we going get treated with some salsa on this occasion perhaps?" 

"No, you are not. The heals are at least, six inches... I'll be happy if can walk from the door to the bar in them. Dancing is out of the question, there is luckily no one to partner with either...   
I have to go now, bye." 

Turning to exit, Elizabeth suddenly realized that Mr Darcy had been sitting in the chair directly behind her listening in through the whole conversation. His opinion of her was most definitely not improving...

On her way out the door, she heard Charlotte call after her. 

"But honestly Lizzy, more shoes? I thought you might be saving for a house?" 

Reluctantly she turned in the doorway and shouted back to Charlotte. 

"Yes I am saving my regular wages for a house but this is extra, a girl must have some fun..." 

Hearing Charlotte still questioning the soundness of fun to be had with shoes and books, Elizabeth warily left the cafeteria.

In a corner on the other side of the cafeteria, sat Edward Gardiner with a deep frown between his eyebrows. He hadn't heard much of the conversation but had watched the emotions drifting over his favourite niece's face.   
Combined with the rather unusual behaviour from earlier, he felt that there was something troubling her and wonder how to approach the subject, without her getting defensive.   
Perhaps it was a job for the heavier artillery, he would consult his wife...

Elizabeth was off-kilter but had no idea why. Heading back to her office, she was mulling it over when she suddenly realized that Jane hadn't participated in the conversation after Charlotte arrived. She had sat, glancing dreamily over her shoulder... Ah, something must have caught her eye, the newcomer of course. He sat on the table behind her. Jane must be enamoured with him, that was cause for some prodding later.

Elizabeth grabbed her preliminary results and studied them closely. She was still missing about 2% of some hitherto unknown substance. She leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes to gather her thoughts...

Something heavy plumped down on the desk in front of her and sighed. Cautiously opening her eyes to espy the cause of the thud, her sister appeared with the previous dreamlike expression on her face. 

"Oh, he is everything a young man ought to be Lizzy... Sensible, good-humoured, handsome..."

"Who?"

"Mr Bingley! Haven't you met him? He was seated right behind you in the cafeteria with Mr Darcy"

"No. I mean I noticed someone with Mr Darcy but I didn't know who he was... So, who is your Mr Bingley?" Elizabeth asked while wiggling her eyebrows seductively at her sister.

"He is the corporate lawyer and Mr Darcy’s best friend. Owns the law firm actually..."

"Isn't he rather young to be owning his own law firm? Somebody must be pulling your leg..."

"Apparently he inherited the firm before he finished law school. An orphan or so it seems." Jane put up a rather sad face after making that contemplation.

“Yes, and conveniently rich," Elizabeth grinned.

"You know I have never been driven by want of a lot of money Lizzy." Jane admonished her sister.

"Of course not Jane, I am only kidding."

"Well, he invited me and Charlotte over to their table after you left and..."

"So it's only me he doesn't tolerate then..."

"What! I thought you said you hadn't met him..."

"I haven't. Pay me no mind, I'm full of nonsense. If I could only find this last ingredient in the Russian explosive... Hmm."

"What explosive? Please do not say you have mislaid any dangerous explosive around, have you?" Jane looked alarmingly at her sister.

"No, no I am just missing a link of the puzzle that's all. I have yet to figure out what the last unknown 2% is. Maybe I should call Tommy and see if he has time to detonate some for me, just to check its powers." 

Elizabeth seemed deep in thought but Jane was on a mission and did not give up that easily.

"Mr Bingley said that..." 

Was all she managed to get out before Elizabeth interrupted her again.

"May we please continue this conversation later Jane? Preferably at home? I am swamped and I need to get this finished."

"Are you dismissing me from your office Lizzy," Jane was perturbed, not used to Lizzy not being willing to talk.

"I am sorry Jane, I'll make it up to you when we get home... I promise."

And talk they did, well at least Jane did, but that was after climbing into bed at night, continuing until the early rays of sun graced the horizon.

Elizabeth felt a bit guilty for evicting poor, enamoured Jane from her office but the need for contemplating in solitude won out...  
Feeling a general sense of uneasiness that disturbed her normal equilibrium. A trip to the bunker would cheer her up nicely though...   
Pushing the button for detonation was always a thrill. Yes, that was what she needed.   
Picking up the phone to check if Tommy was available lifted her spirits and she was soon heading out of her office with a smile and a small amount of the Russian explosive in her hand.

Tommy was happy to see her, working mostly alone, visitors were rarely rejected, being young and pretty was not an objection either. 

Tommy was in his mid-forties, single and painfully shy. Elizabeth had a native ability to put people at ease, which hindered the naturally reticent blaster to clamp up like an oyster which was his usual behaviour in female company.

"Tommy, I am on a secret mission and I am desperately in need of your assistance." 

Elizabeth didn't shy away from blatant flattery when in need of a favour...

"I've got this Russian explosive from uncle and I am trying to figure out its content. Must keep up with the competition you know and see if they have created something new and inventive.   
From what I have gathered so far it's a civil, not a military explosive, similar to dynamite but with a twist..." 

Elizabeth flashed him a mischievous smile that she knew he couldn't resist.

"And you want me to detonate it to check its prowess and you want to push the detonation button?"

Tommy wiggled his eyebrows and Elizabeth laughed.

"Guilty as charged Tommy, a girl must have some fun..."

"Come along then, let's see what damage a couple of gram of this Russian stuff may do to a clog. One might say, figure out if you want to step on it or not..."

“Tommy I don't wear clogs..."

"No, but I am out of crocs," chuckling at his own joke Tommy ducked into the bunker and Elizabeth followed merrily. Happy to have her good mood restored.

***

Settling into her office the next morning, tired from the late-night thanks to Jane's unending chatter about a certain Mr Bingley. 

Elizabeth was no closer to resolve the mystery of the missing 2%...   
What next? Well, she would have to brave it and smell it, to find out if that could give her a clue. Not particularly looking forward to the headache she knew would follow the endeavour...   
Luckily it paid off and a couple hours later, tests confirmed her suspicion of Diesel. Paperwork finished and delivered on her uncle’s desk she headed towards the cafeteria...

Charlotte was awaiting her at the door and they quickly filled their trays and went for their favourite table.  
Yet again occupied by Mr Darcy and his friend. Sighing, Elizabeth chose the second favourite table and slumped down on the chair, back to back with Mr Darcy. Sucking in her disappointment of losing out on her favourite table for the second day in a row, Elizabeth forged on before the bad mood settled.

"Have you seen Jane, Lizzy?"

"She's on cloud number nine,” casting a glance in Mr Bingley's direction, “and my wings does not reach that far. We will just have to see if she turns up."

"So she didn't pick up her phone and wasn't in her office?"

"Exactly!"

"You could have just said that Lizzy..." 

"I come with great news Charlotte. I have finished my secret assignment. No need to go into detail, these walls have ears but I didn't get a headache after smelling it. Cause for celebration don't you think?" Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows.

"Why on earth would you smell it anyway?"

"Focus Charlotte! I have heard about this amazing new Nikkei sushi restaurant in town. Combining the Peruvian with the Japanese kitchen, melted cheese on sushi, if that isn’t orgasm on a platter then I know nothing...   
I am paying too so you couldn't get any better offer than that."

Elizabeth smirked at Charlotte who muttered something about preferring a real orgasm to the one served on a platter.

"Bet I can help you with that too, there is bound to be a naughty shop in London. They have invented a lot of usable stuff in rubber nowadays. Apparently, they vibrate too or so I've been told."

Elizabeth was at this point giggling merrily at Charlotte's discomfort, unluckily, Charlotte was about to turn the table on her.

"Oh my, are we merry today Lizzy! Have you made a secret conquest that you have yet to inform me about? Maybe you should take him eating all this weird stuff, hmm?"

"Hardly," Lizzy snorted. 

"Sounds like you need to get laid Charlotte."

"And you don't Lizzy?"

"No!!!"

"Why not?" 

Elizabeth uttered the indelicate response of "Yuck," followed by a wrinkle on her nose.

"Well, I have found someone for you Charlotte... There's a new guy in accounting that's a distant relation of mine. His father is my father's second cousin or something like that. His name is Bill Collins, I can introduce you to him at the company Gala if he chooses to attend?"

"Is that the son of the man who wanted to take Longbourn from your father?"

"The one and only but the father died a couple of years ago so he is living with his mother now. I think he's about thirty. My mother suspects him of wanting to marry one of my sisters to get his hands on Longbourn you know."

"Then why are you passing him over to me exactly?"

"Well, he's a little short for Jane...”

"Sounds like his perfect for you then Lizzy. What's the catch, I am smelling foul play..."

"Alright, he’s kind of stupid..."

"Great, stupid I can work with..." Charlotte didn't seem to be put off by that at all.

"Well... A matter of fact he is utterly ridiculous, in a no-brain no headache kind of way. I think I would prefer to be stripped naked, painted in honey and tied to an anthill before I went on a date with the sorry excuse of a man."

"And you wanted me to date him because... Why exactly?" 

"To get my matchmaking mother off my back before I am floating face down the Thames just to get some quiet."

"Why is she so intent on getting you all married? Lydia is fifteen for heavens sake, is she expected to marry as well?"

"My mother wants to sell Longbourn and buy an apartment, preferably on Ibiza. She wants my father to retire and Lydia to move with them. Lydia isn't complaining that's for sure, she is after all the favourite."

"That bad hey... Can't your father dissuade him?"

"He is far too amused by my discomfort to interfere. Although I can hardly see him selling Longbourn, it is his inheritance. He is putting the argument off by using his innocent daughters as bait. He argues they can't sell Longbourn as long as we are still living at home. Maybe I could move into the old dowager cottage for a while..."

"I think you will miss the comforts of electricity and running water rather quickly," Charlotte commented dryly, as always the practical one.

"Candles and shower at work," Elizabeth muttered under her breath.

"But why is she not shoving him towards Jane, she is the eldest after all."

"Of course not, don’t play daft Charlotte. Jane is beautiful and that saves her from my mothers pestering. She will certainly attract a suitor without my mother’s help. It seems to be only this daughter, whom by my mother’s words... Is too headstrong, sharp-tongued, too short and do you believe it? Too clever to attract someone who will whisk her away from the nest.   
Apparently, men prefer girls with heads filled with a whole lot of nothing. My parent’s marriage should make a perfect example of the fact.”

"Is he at least handsome?"

"No comment." Elizabeth sighed. 

“Are you at least up for some sushi tonight?"

"Yes. I am going to milk you dry for this favour so you just keep it coming, my friend."

“Oh, Charlotte you are a lifesaver, literally, in every sense of the word," 

Elizabeth jumped up from her chair to go around the table to hug her friend. Instead, she jumped right into the chest of Mr Darcy...   
Slowly lifting her eyes up the male form in front of her, reaching the intense, deep blue eyes she muttered: "I’ve got to stop doing that." 

If she meant the bumping into or the girl talk that obviously should have been held in private, she didn't say... Spinning around on her heels, she left the cafeteria, leaving her tray for Charlotte to tidy up.

Darcy stood rooted to the spot, oblivious to Charlotte's mumbling curses.  
Those eyes, that had slowly been unveiled from her luscious, lashes... Dark brown with speckles of gold or maybe it was the night sky reflecting in her orbs the twinkling from a thousand stars. He was mesmerised. Why hadn't he noticed them before? Of course, she had worn the yellow goggles the last time he had been so close...   
Charles addressing him snapped him out of his musings of the fine eyes and he sat down again, forgetting why he had risen in the first place.

Charles, on the other hand, was not tongue-tied...

"Darcy? Do you think all girls talk like that? About guys I mean, they were rather harsh on the poor fellow..." 

"I have met him, they were spot on actually. One of my aunt's sycophantic admirers."

"Really! Do you think they are going to that shop..." 

"Charles! I am leaving, see you tomorrow!"

***

Elizabeth walked mindlessly in the direction of her uncle’s office to get some feedback on her last results. Gardiner confirmed that her spy mission was accomplished satisfyingly while stating that her next assignment would be testing wastewater from the production and calibrating equipment in the lab.  
Starting with the calibration of the pipettes, she was anticipating a girls night out with Charlotte and the fact that it was Thursday,   
Friday being her day at the university.

Friday at lunch, Elizabeth entered the cafeteria of Lebon despite her supposed day at school. Lectures had ended early due to the teacher getting sick and Gardiner had called her wanting a word with her.   
Now accustomed to her favourite table being occupied, she dumped her tray on her second favourite table, in front of Jane and Charlotte and made a happy twirl on the floor.

"How do I look?" She grinned at the stunned faces of her sister and friend, the friend finding her voice first.

"Like a train wreck! Elizabeth Victoria Antoinette Bennet what on earth are you wearing? By the way, shouldn't you be at school today?"

"Great! You couldn't resist to bring up all the queens, could you... We finished early, sick teacher..." 

Elizabeth sat down and took a big bite of her sandwich.

Jane finally woke up and asked surprised: 

"You want to look like a train wreck?"

"Yes! Mary King got her inheritance a couple of days ago and invited me and several others from class to the PunkRock restaurant in London.   
Do I look like a punk-rocker or what?"

Charlotte and Jane eyed her suspiciously taking in her appearance with more disdain than awe. Dressed in black leather pants, a tight black low cut top and a black fringed leather jacket, her chocolate coloured curly hair flowing unrestrained down her back.

"Look at these boots." Elizabeth swung her leg above the table to show off her knee-high, black leather army boots.

"Look at the sole, wouldn't slide in the mud with this chunky pattern. Got them for a tenner on sale. It's a bargain don't you think?" 

Elizabeth put her leg back down underneath the table, noticing that Mr Darcy was looking at her quizzically. Peculiar that he had changed seats with Mr Bingley, compared to the previous days. Maybe he was trying to put a safe bumping distance between them...

"Hardly," Charlotte snorted, looking less than impressed.

"Not a lot of mud in the streets of London, I think you could safely have gone for something a bit more sophisticated."

"Why? That wouldn't scream punk, would it? I am planning to blend in at the restaurant you know. It's very hip.  
They do not have a fixed menu. You pay a fee to enter and get whatever courses the chef choose to cook that night. I have heard it can be up to 20 courses. And Mary said that one time they had served Russian caviar by spooning it on to the back of your hand and you had to lick it off and wash it down with a shot of pure vodka. " 

Elizabeth was demonstrating by licking imaginary caviar from her hand. 

"You should lay off the vodka, Lizzy." Charlotte admonished.

"Of course, I am the designated driver, no booze for me..." 

"So that's why they invited you, needed a driver did they," Charlotte snickered unbecomingly.

"Well, it doubled the female participation so maybe I was asked to level out the heavy overload of males in the party. Frankly, I don't care why as long as I am in."

"Are you sure it's safe Lizzy, I think it sounds rather dubious. Not the kind of restaurant you usually frequent." Jane's natural protectiveness kicked in.

"Do not to worry Jane. A couple of the guys in our party are quite brawny, they will protect me I am sure if it."

"Protect you or attack you I wonder," Jane was not convinced.

"Honestly Jane. I bake the best brownies, it's in their best interest to get me home unscathed or there will be no more cakes in class on Fridays..."

There were several others listening in on their conversation, Lizzy's unusual appearance had drawn some attention. One of them were approaching.

"Sorry to interrupt you but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation...  
I am George Wickham, the new guy in the military explosive department."

George winked at Elizabeth while eyeing her cleavage. Elizabeth unconsciously pulled the jacket close. 

“I am an old friend of Mary King. Please say hello to her from me. And by the way, the restaurant is fantastic. Really eclectic interior.   
Headless dolls hanging from the ceiling, antique vases combined with rubber ducks decorate the tables. It's a once in a lifetime experience."

"I will tell her I saw you," Elizabeth nodded and Wickham strolled off.

"What an incredibly handsome man. I have heard Rita saying he was hot but didn't know who he was." 

"I'll give you that he's handsome Charlotte but in a more feminine rather than masculine way. Reminds me of Bieber... Lydia would be ecstatic," Elizabeth smirked.

"Lizzy," it was Jane's turn to admonish her.

"One of these days, someone will catch your eyes, and then you'll have to watch your tongue."

In fact, someone already had... Mr Darcy was watching her intently with dark, thunderous eyes.

Elizabeth wondered what his problem was, she hadn't bumped into him for nearly 24 hours, what could be his complaint now? If he didn't like her look he could easily look away. Elizabeth decided to pay him no mind, nothing was going to spoil her weekend.

Gardiner finally turned up and sat down next to Elizabeth.

"New school uniform, Elizabeth?" Gardiner could hardly contain his mirth over the scowl Elizabeth answered that statement with.

"Good, you could drop by in your busy schedule. I've actually been a little worried about you and wondered if you could come visit your old aunt and uncle, perhaps tonight?"

"Oh, I am sorry uncle but I am helping Mr Rodriguez with a salsa class in an hour, his rheumatism is flaring up again and then I am going out to a restaurant with some of my classmates.   
Saturday, I plan to sleep in and have a Sex In The City marathon with Jane and Charlotte before we have a boat coming in after midnight. Sunday, I am taking Chevy up to Oakham Mount. This weekend is really busy, may I take a rain check?"

"What salsa class, maybe I will tag along and check out the hot guys."

"Be my guest Charlotte, it's the 13- and 14-year-olds. Perfect if you are in for the acne and a high pitched voice kind of guy, although it might be considered cradle robbing.”

"No thanks. Thought you danced to meet hot guys, not old married men and adolescents. I don't understand why you bother."

"The entertainment is unparalleled. The adolescent boys will be mortified by the more mature adolescent girls and I will be highly amused." 

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, looking as smug as ever.

"Elizabeth, don't be cruel. Why would the girls mortify the boys?" Jane admonished.

"It is a truth universally acknowledge that girls mature at least a decade before the boys, of course, they will suffer. By the way, any plans for Saturday girls?" Both Jane and Charlotte shook their head in the negative.

“I am going to sleep in and then I thought we could have a Sex in the city marathon?" Elizabeth wiggled her brows enticingly, making Charlotte groan.

"Still have a crush on Mr Big, Lizzy?"

"Of course, he is conveniently unreal."

"Why on earth would you want a guy that's not real?" Gardiner asked astound.

"On and off switch and not to mention the fast forward over the proud and insufferable bits. It's the ideal relationship really."

Elizabeth laughed at her uncle’s incredible facial expression.

"Don't worry uncle, you are in good company with fifty per cent of the human population, not understanding women. Luckily you have aunt Madeline, she loves you regardless.   
Now I have some adolescent boys to scare senseless, you will have to excuse me."

Kissing her uncles cheek, Elizabeth said her goodbyes and balanced confidently out on her high heels.

*HPLC: High-performance liquid chromatography, used to determine compounds dissolved in solution.


	2. Night Owls

Chapter 2 Night Owls 

Elizabeth’s mood was restored after a very entertaining dancing lesson with Mr Rodriguez adolescent class.   
The youngsters had whistled at her entrance (which did not happen a lot to Elizabeth, she could not remember any previous occasion) and Elizabeth had bowed theatrically whilst threatening to turn the lesson into an exercise in head-banging if any negative comments about her outfit were uttered.   
The shy Ian had come out of his shell a little and asked Saoirse, his current crush, to dance after Elizabeth had praised his footwork.

***

Mary King was ready with her new entourage of admirers. Her popularity had skyrocketed after the jungle telegraph had spread the word of her inheritance like wildfire. Elizabeth, the only additional female in attendance had been asked to accompany her as the designated driver with her old Land Rover Defender that easily seated seven.  
Surprisingly, George Wickham was one of the suitors. He must have gotten hold of Mary’s phone number and wiggled his way into an invitation. Brian, Liam, Richard and Noel were none to please about that particular development as George was by far, the better-looking chap.  
Brian, Liam and Noel were known to Elizabeth from the University but Richard was an undescribed leaf. Introductions out of the way, they bundled up in Elizabeth’s old and thirsty car, heading for London. 

The two-hour drive was rather entertaining, Mary was wooed from all angles while Richard’s dry comments kept Elizabeth thoroughly amused for the length of their journey. 

The restaurant lived up to Elizabeth’s expectations. A mismatch of old antics with plastic contemporary miscellaneous, created a multifaceted ambience, far from anything that Elizabeth had previously experienced. Gleefully, she entered the premises and found herself seated at the opposite end from Mary, the guys fighting to be seated next to their prize.  
Mary paid the hundred and eighty per head, a little less for the none drinking Elizabeth.

She ended up with Georg on her left and Richard to her right, overlooked as George had taken a sudden interest in none other than Richard. 

“Richard, you look somewhat familiar but I cannot place you. Are you by chance from the Lambton area?”

“No, I hale from further north. I have heard it mentioned though.”

“I only asked because I am from Lambton. I grew up on a large estate called Pemberley, perhaps you have heard of it?”

“Yes, everyone has heard of Pemberley. I thought it belonged to the Darcy family though. I might be mistaken...”

“No, you are not mistaken. The Darcy’s own the place but my father ran it. He was the trusted steward and the Darcy family were happy to leave the decision making to him in almost all instances.   
We lived near the estate until his untimely passing, three years ago. The older Mr Darcy passed two years before him and his son and heir did not want to grant his father’s last wishes and make me the new steward...” Grief wafted across George’s face before he sighed.

“Well, I guess I am better off without that arrogant bastards charity. I have heard he is exceedingly difficult to work for. No vacation or benefits after he took over the estate.”

‘I suppose with the extensive education and experience you must have in the agricultural field, it cannot be too difficult to find another position?” Richard commented wryly. 

“No, you’re right of course. I have chosen to expand my knowledge in a different direction. If Fitzwilliam Darcy would finally pay me the money his father left me, I intend to study the law. It is practical to combine with my agricultural experience. Meanwhile, I work at Lebon explosives where there are plenty of perks, especially the beautiful colleagues.”

“I would guess, regardless of his level of arrogance... Even Fitzwilliam Darcy could not withhold an inheritance you had any claim to.”

Elizabeth thought that George sounded like he spoke utter rubbish but chose not to interfere with the guys’ exchange. 

The waiter had finally reached their table with the long-anticipated black caviar and Elizabeth licked the offering off the back of her hand.  
Next, she got a plate with three little pink hockey pucks adorned with smiley faces. It turned out to be tuna with a chilli-aioli smiley face sauce.   
Fourteen micro meals later, Elizabeth regretted her tight leather pants and longed for one of her comfortable onesies.

The night was far from over though and with their stomachs satiated, the party took off to a nightclub.  
Elizabeth thought that dancing off some of the carbs and fat from the meal, might not be a bad idea. She tagged along, making the rearward troop with Richard and George. The minute the party entered the club, her company left her for Mary and Elizabeth found a quiet corner to nurse her glass of water. She was dying for a cup of coffee but the club only served ordinary black coffee. She was craving an iced-mocha-vegan-latte and she had passed an Expresso House on her way from the PunkRock restaurant and she sneaked out, undetected to grab a cup.

She almost regretted the endeavour after exiting the Espresso House. Having to pass a darkened ally on her way back, she was certain that a tall shadow had emerged from said ally and was now following her. She chucked the rest of her coffee in a nearby bin and sprinted back to the others at the club.

George invited her to dance and Elizabeth happily acquiesced, shaking off the reminiscent fullness from the multiple meals.

George seemed to have forgot his agenda and staid close to Elizabeth for the rest of the evening, Richard hovered nearby. Perhaps they had given up on Mary, considering the massive competition. 

It was four in the morning before the party headed home. Elizabeth tried to swallow her yawns but it was growing more difficult by the minute. George was upfront with her and he proved much less entertaining than Richard had been on their way to London.   
He had a plan though, being the last of her drop-offs before Mary’s apartment, he offered chivalrous, to take Mary home first and him last. He was not succeeding though, because Elizabeth and Mary had agreed upon letting off the males first so that Elizabeth would not be left alone with a man she did not know. It had been her one demand for taking on the driving duty. 

George surprised her by directing her to Mary’s apartment, leaving the car with a rather content Mary. She had not seen that coming as George had not been the most attentive of Mary’s suitors over the course of the evening. Perhaps their prior acquaintance had been of a romantic nature. 

In the end, Elizabeth was happy to be home, half past six in the morning. She fell into bed, half asleep already. 

***

It was afternoon before Jane and Charlotte rudely awakened her with way too cheery expressions. Elizabeth tried to pull the pillow over her head but it was ripped right from her hands and the familiar sound of the Sex In The City theme song wafted across the room.  
Longbourn was a large, old and draughty manor. Each of the Bennet daughters had their own bedroom but the cost of heating was significant and the income left little to impress. Therefore, the Bennet sisters shared a room during the winter months. It was still autumn though and the chill had not yet set in so Elizabeth was occupying her own room for a few weeks more.

Reluctantly, she sat up with a scowl on her face.

“Did you have a pleasant evening?”

“I had a lovely early morning and a long date with my pillow.”

“How romantic! Move over, make room for your sister and me.”

Charlotte had little compassion and even less patience with Elizabeth’s procrastination. 

It proved worth waking up for though. The handsome Mr Big was on a romantic bend and swept Carrie off her feet while Elizabeth and Charlotte kept busy with needling Jane for her plans to go to the local pub that evening. Obviously hoping to encounter a certain handsome lawyer that had mentioned he would be there.

***

By evening the roles had switched while Elizabeth felt rested, Charlotte was starting to sag.  
There was no option but to suck it up though, as the hour for the arrival of the ship was nearing and instruments awaited their warm-up and calibration. 

Prepping done, Elizabeth and Charlotte went down to the sea to receive the ship and tie it to the dock.  
The ship that arrived this night was enormous, much longer than anything they had received before. It was double the length of their dock and they would have to tie the stern to the headland beyond the dock.  
A thin rope was tied to the massive one that they would fasten to the cleat with a cleat-hitch. It weighed a ton and both Elizabeth and Charlotte struggled to pull the now water soaked lines up onto the dock. Their efforts were accompanied by profanities in a foreign language but the tone of their voices left little room for speculation.   
As usual, none of the crew spoke any English and neither Charlotte nor Elizabeth had any idea of which language they spoke, much less had any knowledge of it.  
A tall figure emanated from the shadows of the dock and spoke harshly in a language the crew seem to comprehend. 

Elizabeth startled at first, having no idea who the stranger was but as he grew near, the stoic Fitzwilliam Darcy appeared. She had a sudden flashback to the night before. Could the shadow in the ally been Mr Darcy?

“Why are the two of you down here alone? Why are there not any of the male workers present?”

“They are not needed. We can handle this, I assure you. We have done this many times before...”

“It doesn’t look like it! Those ropes are much too heavy for you ladies. A wave could rock the ship and you would have followed the rope into the sea.”

“I would not! I would have let the rope go...”

“Yes, with more threats hailing from aboard the ship.”

“It would matter little to me. I have no idea of what they are saying so the words could not possibly harm me.”

“What if they put their threats into action?”

“As I still do not know what they are saying, I have no clue. Perhaps you would like to enlighten me?”

Darcy gaped like a fish on land, unable to utter a single syllable. 

“As I thought, not worth mentioning. Come along Charlotte! Hold the ladder while I climb on board.”

“You cannot possibly mean to climb up to those men that just threatened to...” Darcy threw his arms up in the air and proceeded to rake them through his hair.

“I will climb up and collect the sample you need. Is it more than one tank?”

“Not usually no but you cannot do that.”

“Why not!”

“You are the CEO, you cannot climb up there. What will Lady Catherine say if we let her dandy nephew do our dirty work?”

Darcy snorted, grabbed the container for the sample and climbed the ladder swiftly and efficiently. A few moments later, he was back on the dock and they hurried to the lab for the analysis.

The tests confirmed the identity and purity of the glycol and the ship was given the all-clear to unload their cargo into the massive tank on the plant.  
Tired and a little miffed, Elizabeth and Charlotte headed home to sleep, without any further run-ins with the Lebon crown prince.

***

The ruckus of the Bennet household awoke Elizabeth, hours before she would have preferred.   
It took a while before it registered in her mind that the noise was uncommonly loud, even for her family.   
The next moment, her mother threw open the door and it hit the wall with a loud crash.  
Elizabeth felt her duvet being ripped off her body as her mother searched her bed.

“She isn’t her either. What shall we do! Thomas, you must ring the police immediately and report her missing...”  
Elizabeth's brain was slowly catching up. 

“Who exactly is missing?”

“Oh, do catch up Elizabeth. It is Jane of course. She did not come home from the pub last night. Oh, I wish I had not followed your advice Thomas and retired before all my daughters were safely at home...”

“There, there Blossom. No need to jump to any conclusions yet. She probably met someone she knew and slept at their house.”

“Not without telling her mama.” Fanny Bennet scowled at her husband. 

“Jane is twenty-two years old Fanny, I dear say she has reached her majority and do not have to report every little detail to her parents. Have you tried her phone?”

“Of course I have. It is dead, probably has a flat battery...”

“See, I am sure she will send you a message as soon as she can get her hands on a charger. No reason to worry my dear.”

Slightly mollified, the Bennet’s filed out of Elizabeth’s bedroom while a new message vibrated on her phone.   
Elizabeth had long since learned that it was wise to turn off the sound as not to alert her nosy mother and younger sister, who would pester her for every little detail of every text she would get.  
Turning on her screen, the message was from an unknown number and Elizabeth curiously opened it.

I am sorry to bother you but your sister got sick last night at the pub and we had to take her home to Netherfield because of circumstances I would rather not put into writing.   
I would appreciate it if you could come without telling the rest of your family as the matter is a little delicate. ~Charles Bingley 

Panic immediately struck Elizabeth. ‘Why had not Jane texted her herself? What possible ailment had rendered her incapable of writing a text? Perhaps she had broken her arms or hit her head and lay unconscious at the mercy of Mr Bingley. No, that could not be it, it was not a delicate matter as Bingley had put it.  
Elizabeth cursed herself for lending Mary her car that day to go to church and she was having tea and biscuits afterwards which meant she could not be expected home for a few hours yet.  
Elizabeth grabbed her beloved grandmother’s vintage ecru dress from the seventies with wide sleeves. It was flowy, easy to get into and at hand in her moment of need.

Elizabeth sprinted out of the house, unaware of the clouds that gathered above her head, her hair being in a tangled mess and that sandals were not appropriate footwear for a five-kilometre run through the forest.  
Her luck was running out and fat raindrops landed on her face with a kilometre to go. She hoisted the skirt of her dress, up from the muddy ground and ran full speed to Netherfield. 

By the time she reached Netherfield, she was soaked through. The hem of her dress was six inches deep in mud, her hair was plastered down her head and back while she was totally winded. She banged on the door with her fists, not seeing the lion head knocker, just above her head.  
A familiar chest let her into the hall.

“Elizabeth!” 

He had a ridiculous look on his face, mouth slack and eyes wide as he took in her appearance. 

Elizabeth knew she must look a fright but there was no need to emphasize her predicament with the blatant staring.

“I was told my sister is here, can you tell me where she is?”

“Yes, just a minute.” Darcy grabbed a jacket from the rack and enfolded her in it.

“Thank you, I was getting a little cold.”

Darcy turned and strode to the staircase, obviously expecting Elizabeth to follow. He went up the stairs and Elizabeth hurried after him into a guest bedroom.

“Wait here!”

“But my sister?” Darcy was out of the room before she managed to finish her short sentence. 

He came back with a redheaded lady on tow.

“Is this Jane’s sister? They look nothing like each other.”

By the tone of her voice, Elizabeth understood that she and not Jane had drawn the shortest straw which she had in a sense.   
Jane was tall, Elizabeth was not. Jane’s blond hair was cut in a long bob that looked like it had come directly from the straightening iron. Lush and shiny at all times.  
Elizabeth had a dark brown helmet of unruly curls that Jane charitably called her Julia Roberts hair but it bore little resemblance to the famous actresses big curls. No, it was definitely tiny curls in constant competition for the highest altitude on her head. It was fairly long when wet but seemed to shrink considerably when dry. Blow drying was out of the question as it made her hair frizzy and gain enormous proportions.  
Elizabeth felt judged and left wanting...

“Do you have some dry clothes that Elizabeth may borrow?”

“I will see if some of my elastic gym tights is clean, I doubt she will fit my jeans.”

“What are you talking about Caroline, she is tiny.”

“No, she is short. Those hips are not what I would call tiny...”

Elizabeth was irritated at herself for automatically looking down to the area in question. She took off the jacket that Darcy had loaned her and handed it back to him.

“I am warmer now, thank you.  
Caroline, anything would do. Perhaps your brother has something I can squeeze into if yours are too skinny. A t-shirt and some sweatpants will do admirably until my own dress has dried.”

Caroline’s eyes widened and she scurried out of the room, mumbling about, to see what she could find.  
Elizabeth turned to the occupant that was left in the room.

“I want to see my sister, will you show me her room or should I go look for myself?”

Elizabeth crossed her arms and glared at the man that was stalling her. He must feel a little bit embarrassed as he was looking in every direction except for her own.

“I will take you to her but I thought I should appraise you of her condition first.”

Elizabeth’s arms fell to her sides as she refocused on her sister’s predicament.

“What is a matter with her? Please tell me. I cannot stand not knowing anything and frankly, you are freaking me out with all this stalling and prevaricating. If she is seriously ill, I would rather be lead to her room in a wet dress than to wait here for something dry.”

“She is not seriously ill Elizabeth but she is not awake so I thought it would be a good time to fill you in that’s all. You have to promise me not to divulge what I tell you to anybody else at the moment.”

“What about her parents? Should not they be informed about their daughter’s whereabouts?”

“That is one thing we were hoping you could help us with. Deciding what should be told and what should be concealed.”

“Why would you conceal my sister’s so-called not serious illness, from her parents?”

“Because she is not ill, she was drugged... “


	3. A Prolonged Stay

Chapter 3 A Prolonged Stay

Elizabeth could not believe what she had just heard. Jane did not do drugs... ‘Wait, he had said been drugged. What evil form of low-life would do such a thing?’ Elizabeth was pacing the room in angry steps, her coldness was no longer felt.

“We found her behind the pub last night, passed out and we brought her to the hospital.”

Elizabeth froze mid-stride and her hands flew up to cover her face.

“Was she...”

“No, no she was not. The doctors gave her a thorough examination and there was no evidence of any other form of abuse, except for the drugs.   
They found a mixture of ethanol, skopolamine and temazepam, combined with some barbiturates that suggests that she was drugged to be interrogated, not sexually abused.”

“Thank God!  
Not that she was drugged of course but that they had not...”

Elizabeth waved her hand in front of her downstairs furniture to show what she was not able to express out loud.

“She will recover fully but she needs a few days to recuperate and to get the drugs out of her system.”

“I can take her home then?”

“No. I would strongly advise you against that. This is a more... tranquil environment for her to rest and as long as we do not know who gave her the drug, she is at risk.”

“You think someone will have a second go at her?”

“We cannot rule it out.”

“What are you not telling me?”

Elizabeth approached Darcy with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Staring him straight in the eyes.

“The little she remembers and the little we have gleaned from her drug-induced ramblings... She was pumped for information on the new two-component military explosive that you are currently testing for stability in the old bunker by the Dynex 300.”

“But that is harmless, as long as you do not combine the two...”

“Exactly, perfect for travelling as there is no chance for an unwanted detonation to occur. It is interesting for terrorist groups as well as the military...”

“Oh my Lord, what do you know?”

“Very little at the moment but I have a cousin at Interpol that is on his way as we speak. I do not want to endanger your sister further as the company is responsible for any harm coming to our employees by the line of their work.”

“But Jane does not know anything about these experiments.”

“You and I know that but others might not know or believe that you have told your sister as it is widely known that you work on experiments. They might have been under the impression that you would tell your sister about what you were working on or they might even believe it was you they were dealing with.   
Outsiders may not know that there are two Bennet sisters at Lebon.”

“Three,” Elizabeth whispered. 

“Kitty had a summer job in the cafeteria. She is back at school now.”

“Let’s hope they do not know that. Besides, a cafeteria worker does not have access to the inner area with the explosives, she would not be of interest to them.”

“I hope you are right...”

“What do you think we should tell your parents, bearing in mind that the less they know the safer they will be.”

“I think we should stick with Jane being sick. Preferably by something a bit icky and contagious, staving off my mother’s wish to visit... Perhaps the scabs?”

“I refuse to let people believe we have the scabs in our home, you’ll have to think of something else missy.”

Caroline entered the door, clutching her clothes to her chest.

“Who has the scabs?”

“Nobody Caroline...”

Caroline seemed a little indecisive if she should entrust Elizabeth with her clothes but Darcy persuaded her.

“Please leave the clothes on her bed so she can shower and change into something dry.  
Elizabeth, I will be downstairs. Come and find me when you are finished and I will take you to your sister.”

Darcy and Caroline left her to herself and Elizabeth grabbed the pair of jeans, the t-shirt and entered the on-suite bathroom.   
Dropping the clothes on a chair she gasped as she turned to the mirror. ‘How embarrassing!’ Her grandmother’s lovely vintage dress had turned almost entirely see-through when wet. The lace bra underneath left little to the imagination and Elizabeth suddenly realised why Darcy had covered her with his jacket and had had such a hard time looking at her. She had been putting herself on display for the entire interlude and she seriously contemplated not going downstairs at all, ever.  
Only a small portion of common sense and the allure of seeing her sister could persuade Elizabeth to show her face downstairs after her enlightening look in the mirror.  
In an extremely tight jeans with a skimpy t-shirt to go, Elizabeth descended the stairs in trepidation. Her wet hair was in a tangled mess down her back as there was no brush in the bathroom. 

Elizabeth tried to hold her head up high and sauntered into the room which left Caroline fuming. Her plan of putting Elizabeth in unflattering clothes had backfired big time as Elizabeth’s hourglass figure was on full display in fitted clothes.   
Caroline didn’t like Elizabeth although she had no other reason than the fact that Darcy talked about her.  
He did not mention her in a flattering way but still. Darcy never mentioned any females outside of his immediate family, ever.   
Her sixth sense said he had a hang up on her and that it would be up to Caroline to cure him of the infliction.

“I suggest we tell my family that Jane has the mumps.”

“You come up with some strange diseases, why the mumps?”

“Because it makes you ugly and she will prevent my other sisters and even my father from coming. It can give you a testicular inflammation and she is still hoping for that all-important son, fifteen years after birthing her fifth daughter. My father had a vasectomy years ago but she does not know that.”

Elizabeth could have bitten off her own tongue. Too much information! It was a fault she had worked hard to defeat but all her thoughts seemed to take on a life of their own and venture unchecked out of her mouth. 

“Right, it will do.”

“Besides, the swelling glands would give her a plausible reason for having trouble speaking, if they should come to visit regardless, we can deny them entrance to Jane‘s room. Claiming she would not like to be seen in her state, at least until she regains a little more reserve in what she says but will they not object because you are tending her Elizabeth?”

“No, I am the ugliest daughter. She will not mind me tending her nor will she deny Mary. The second ugliest but pious daughter.  
Which brings me to my request. I will send for Mary to bring me some clothes, Jane as well although she might actually fit into Caroline’s skinny outfits. I am certain she would prefer her own though.  
I will tell my father the truth, he will agree with my scheme and keep my mother and my two youngest sister at bay.  
My request will be to borrow your phone to inform my father and send for Mary. After that is accomplished, I want to see my sister.”

“The landline is in the hall.”

“Thank you.”

Elizabeth left to make the necessary arrangements, leaving Caroline to work upon Darcy.

“How crude she is Darcy, fishing so blatantly for compliments. I am impressed you did not reward her impertinence.”

“What?” Darcy was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to follow Caroline’s constant nagging in his ears.

“Never mind Darcy, she will be back soon. She did fill those jeans to the brim, didn’t she?”

“Yes.” 

Caroline snickered wickedly, not catching Darcy’s tone of voice. 

“I bet you would not spend much time in her company if you could help it.”

“In that you are mistaken, I would not mind the company at all. At least not the rear end of her.”

Caroline laughed out loud. Although it sounded a little forced to Elizabeth who was searching unsuccessfully for the landline, outside the door. Uncertain if she should break their little tête-á-tête by asking where they had hidden the phone.

***

Jane was awake when Elizabeth entered the room. Feeling groggy but more like herself than the previous night which was currently in much of a blur of disjointed titbits.  
Her relief in spotting Elizabeth was palpable and the sisters embraced, laughed, cried and talked simultaneously so that none other than themselves understood a word.

“By the way Caroline, you are my sister’s particular friend if anyone asks. You seem to be a trusted accomplice in this endeavour so I thought you would not mind that I used you to explain the circumstances of why Jane is here at Netherfield and not at home.”

“Of course, I will do anything that might aid Mr Darcy and the company.”

“Yes, I gathered as much. Thank you none the less.”

“We will leave you to your sisters care Jane and afford you some privacy. Come, Caroline.”

The command was interrupted as an invitation to latch on to Darcy’s arm and they left the sisters to themselves. 

“Jane, how are you really feeling?”

“Embarrassed and more than a little dizzy. The room still spins and I am so sleepy I could doze a hundred years.”

“You would make an excellent sleeping beauty Jane, let me call Disney in a couple of days but you have nothing to be embarrassed about. This is not your fault Jane! It is the fault of the rotten scumbag that drugged you.”

“I am not talking about the drugs, I am not taking any blame for that but my conduct after I came to was not my best performance.”

“You cannot be blamed for what you did under the influence of drugs that was forced upon you!”

“I am not so certain, Charles might have been offended by my forcing myself upon him.”

“I doubt that any man could be forced to do anything he did not like, what do you mean by forcing yourself upon him?”

“I kissed him. With tongue! He could not get away because I grabbed his neck and dived in.”

“Wow, I would have liked to have seen that. Did he struggle to get away from your talons and tongue?”

“No, I do not think so but it is all kind of hazy...”

Elizabeth chuckled at the thought and got a pinch back.

“I can feel you are regaining your strength Jane, that is good, sort of.”

A brief knock on the door followed by the entrance of a distraught Charles. His hair was standing in all directions and he looked like he had slept in his clothes. 

“I heard you were awake, please excuse my interruption but I had to see for myself. How are you feeling Jane, any nasty side effects?”

Jane blushed crimson but managed to answer in a tolerably composed manner.

“Thank you, Charles, I am much better. I am still sleepy and a little dizziness remains. I will be fine by tomorrow, I am quite certain. I hope I did not injure you during my attack on you last night.”

“Injure?” Charles looked bewildered. 

“Feel free to attack me whenever the urge hit you, I am no worse for wear.” Charles grinned at Jane before addressing Elizabeth. 

“I am so happy you could join us Elizabeth, the mumps it is, very clever by the way. Dinner will be delivered in half an hour and hope you will join us downstairs. It is Chinese takeaway, Caroline ordered almost everything they had though, I am sure you will find something to your liking.  
And Elizabeth, you are very welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you, Charles. I will stay as long as my sister needs me then we will see. I might pay you back with a home-cooked meal if you like?”

“If I like? I would love it! I haven’t eaten anything home-cooked in ages. Write me a shopping list and I will get you anything you need.”

“I will, later this evening when Jane is resting.”

“Of course, see you in a bit Elizabeth. Sweet dreams Jane, preferably with a certain lawyer included.” Charles winked at Jane and was gone.

***

The Chinese take away was served in a formal dining room, decked with Wedgwood Florentine Black plates. Black and white calla flower arrangements were decorating the table.  
Elizabeth thought that it might have been more worth the effort to make a meal than putting the effort and a lot of money into the aesthetics but what did she know about the habits of the fortunate.

Conversation around the table were stilted and formal. After the first enquiries of Jane's health, they ate in silence.  
Elizabeth struggled with the chopsticks. It was alright for sushi but she had never conquered the technique to the degree of managing the rice. It fell off and she gave it up entirely. Choosing to eat the more firm vegetables and meat instead.

When the meal was finished, Elizabeth sprinted up the stairs to check on Jane but descended reluctantly when she found Jane in restful sleep.  
She wrote a shopping list for Charles who eagerly scanned it before his face fell.

“You are a vegetarian!” 

“No, we have meat-free Mondays at home for environmental reasons. Vegetables use much less resources to produce, compared to meat.   
It will be necessary to eat more vegetables if we are going to have enough food for the ever-growing population of the world.  
I will happily prepare you a steak if that is what you like but I thought you might like the challenge of a vegetarian meal tomorrow. Besides, there is plenty of protein in Parmigiana di Melanzane. It is ladled with mozzarella and parmesan.”

“Sounds delicious Elizabeth!” Charles was all smiles, Caroline wrinkled her nose while stealing surreptitious glances towards Mr Darcy who sat quite and sourly in a corner for himself.

Her company stuck their noses in their smartphones, Elizabeth was a little unsure of what to do as her phone was still at Longbourn. A stack of books on a side table called to her and she went over to peruse the offering.

It was a mismatch of books if she had ever seen one. It was Fifty Shades of Grey, Me Before You and an old translation of The Perfumed Garden by Sheykh Nefwazi, translated by Richard Burton.   
Her father had a copy by another translator and Elizabeth was curious to see the differences. The Grey book held little appeal and Me Before You she had read countless of times so the Perfumed Garden it was.

“Prefer the smell of dusty paper to modern technology Elizabeth?”  
Caroline snickered behind her iPhone.

“When there is none other to be had, yes. My phone is still at Longbourn.”

“You poor thing! I couldn’t survive a minute without my iPhone, IPad and laptop. Whatever will you do without your phone?”

“Use my head,” Elizabeth muttered under her breath. 

‘Did Darcy’s mouth just quirk up at the corner? No, it must be a figure of her imagination.’

“Fifty shades is there too, it is much more interesting I am sure to that dusty old book. What is the title?”

“The Perfumed Garden,” Elizabeth replied with a straight face. 

“Are you interested in gardening Elizabeth. It is surely a must with the big gardens of the old manors. I could not possibly live in one without at least a couple of gardeners. Do you have one at Longbourn?”

“Err no.”

“What have you so interested, what plant are you reading about.”

“The lion head.” Elizabeth kept her laughter under strict regulation as it fought to erupt.

“Are you planning on making a bed at Longbourn then? Perhaps you could sell tickets for people to wander through your gardens. It has become a very popular sidekick for estate owners to fill their bank accounts towards maintenance.”

“I highly doubt anyone would pay much to see the small garden at Longbourn and for the lion heads, I doubt it would attract the audience we would be looking for. Hordes of adolescent boys do not pay very well...”

Darcy had kept it in for long but he lost and what started with chuckles ended in laughing out loud. Elizabeth tried to fight it off with a few chuckles herself but it was a lost cause and soon she joined Darcy to a point where they had to clutch their stomachs not to double over.  
Caroline looked bewildered from Elizabeth to Darcy while Charles had no qualms about asking outright. 

“What are you laughing about, gardening isn’t that funny.”

“No, I am sorry. The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delights is fifteenth-century Arabic work of erotic literature, an ancient sex manual if you like. The lion head is another name for the female downstairs furniture, it is not a reference to the flower...  
I am sorry if I mislead you, Caroline.”

The laughter died out, Elizabeth took her book under her arm and bid the others good night. The lack of sleep was catching up on her and she barely remembered to check on Jane before she hit the mattress.

Elizabeth was disoriented when she woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom. Her dress hang on the chair by the door and yesterday came back to her as she rose from the bed.

With no tooth-brush, hairbrush or change of clothes, she utilised what little could be had.   
The house was quiet as it was still early in the morning. Tiptoeing down the stairs, into the kitchen, she jumped and clutched her heart when a deep baritone voice bid her good morning. 

A quick look in the refrigerator revealed some eggs and Elizabeth toasted bread and made a simple omelette that she offered to share with her company.  
A loud knock on the door was heard and Elizabeth prayed that it would be Mary with a bag of clothes and her prayers were answered. 

“I have never been so happy to see you as I am now Mary. You are a saving angel. Did you find all the items I asked for?”

“Yes. I am sorry I couldn’t come yesterday but I was home really late. Had to drive some old ladies home after church. Some of them live alone and I felt I had to stay a little to chat...”

“Thank you, Mary. I am just glad you are here now. Why don’t you come in for a second.”

“No, I haven’t had the mumps and I would rather not expose myself to contamination.”

“I never knew you were so vain Mary.” Elizabeth’s smile took the edge of her words.

“Do not be ridiculous Elizabeth, I do not have the time to get sick that’s all. I have bible studies on Wednesday and church on Sunday, prepping for church on Saturday.”

“You are probably wise Mary, never mind me... “

“May I borrow your car for a few days more Elizabeth? It is not as you will be needing it when you are stuck here anyway.”

Elizabeth sighed, she and Jane were the only Bennet girls with a car and Mary was probably right. 

“I didn’t know you had bible study on Wednesday, I thought you only had church on Sundays.”

“It is a new group that has just been started, they need me to organise the events and we will have meetings on Saturdays as well.”

“Alright, you can take the car with such noble excuses. Remember to fill it up though.”

Mary forgot the quarantine for a minute and hugged her sister before remembering that she might be contagious and jumped back. Releasing Elizabeth so quickly that she staggered backwards into a substantial male form. It was a nice change, she thought, colliding with his chest with her back, as opposed to her face.

“I have got to go Elizabeth. Your stuff is in the black bag and Jane’s is in the blue. Your phone is tucked in between your granny pants, no harm should come to it in those bomb shelters... Bye.”

“Thank you for bringing up my underwear in company you nitwit, perhaps I should take back my car.”

“Too little too late,” Mary wiggled the car keys in her hand and got into the car.

Elizabeth sighed and muttered under her breath something along the line of ways to dispose of ones sisters while she bent to pick up the bag for her sister. Her bag was already taken care of by Mr Darcy. 

Elizabeth put Jane’s bag in her room, carefully as not to wake her sleeping sister before she trotted to her own room to shower, change and brush her teeth and hair. New underwear, granny’s or not, sounded lovely. As Jane was sound asleep, she luxuriated in a long and refreshing shower to go with her fresh outfit.

Jane was awake and feeling much better when Elizabeth entered her room. She was still a bit wobbly so Elizabeth stood guard when she showered, in case she should topple over.

Dressed and ready to go downstairs, Charles came running to take Jane’s other arm and they cooperated in guiding her down the stairs.

Elizabeth made Jane an omelette for breakfast which she ate in the kitchen. A knock on the door made Elizabeth stiffen. ‘Had her mother come despite the warnings to stay away? No, the steps that approached were much heavier.’

“Richard!” Elizabeth surprise to see him was plain to see.

“Elizabeth! Fancy meeting you here.”

“Yes, I am a little out of place I suppose.”

“That’s not what I meant. I did not know that you knew my cousin.”

“Cousin?”

“Yes, Darcy is my cousin.”

“I don’t, it is my sister Jane that are friends with Caroline. She was a little unwell yesterday so I came to help.” 

Elizabeth bit her lip, the mumps explanation suddenly seemed like a less than stellar idea as Richard had already seen Jane without the swelling glands.

“Do not worry Elizabeth, I am the Interpol cousin. I am already appraised of the facts.”

Elizabeth smiled relieved. ‘So much for my poker face,’ she thought. She would make a horrible spy.

Everyone gathered in the sitting room. Richard wanted Jane to tell him herself, everything that she remembered from the evening in question. Which turned out to be very little.   
She had no idea how she had gotten the drugs but it was believed that it had been added to her glass of wine at the pub.

She had not seen the interrogator as he had been behind her at all times but she did remember only one voice that she did not recognize. It was a male voice which narrowed it down to about fifty per cent of the worlds population. He also spoke fluent English which narrowed it down some more.   
He had questioned her about some explosives that she had not heard of, wanting to know where they could be found.   
Elizabeth knew exactly what he was after and Mr Darcy gave her permission to speak openly with his cousin about it but Caroline and Charles were asked to leave, which they did very reluctantly.   
At last, he kindly asked Jane if she wanted to know or would prefer to be left an ignorant. It would be her choice and Jane chose to leave. 

The military explosive of two components consisted of one part metallic powder and one part liquid salts that were perfectly safe until you combined the two. Elizabeth was testing the stability of the two components combined and had been doing so for a couple of months. 

Because of the amount of explosives and the damage a mishap would make. The experiments were conducted in an old bunker that had been previously used for detonating small amounts of explosives. It was ideal because of its remote location from the production area and the sturdy walls of two circles of concrete with a metre of sand in between. The light mesh roof with sand on top was built to steer the explosion upwards where it would make less damage. It was also ideal because it was far from prying eyes...

Elizabeth could be seen just as much as Charlotte around on the different locations of 270-acre plant, collecting samples for their analysis.   
The bunker was on the way to a manhole where Elizabeth collected samples of their wastewater for the COD test that measured the chemical oxygen demand, to determine how much organic material they let out into the sea.  
It made perfect sense that Elizabeth would frequent the area as it was widely known that Charlotte had refused to enter the manhole after an incident with a rather large rat at the bottom. Charlotte was also more susceptible to the nitroglycerin induced headache that one could get from exposure. The water flowed in an open pipe to enable them to sample it.

Nobody had lifted an eyebrow over Elizabeth’s frequent sojourns to the area as they immediately would presume they had problems with the wastewater. 

Richard proved knowledgeable in the field of explosives and needed little additional explanations from Elizabeth or Darcy.   
It was agreed upon to use the upcoming corporate gala as a decoy to divert any attention to the goings-on as it would be held at Netherfield in a fortnight. Nobody would react to any particular activity as the gala, with the announcement of Lady Catherine’s retirement, was a poorly kept secret. 

***

Richard proved a welcome addition to their party.   
He was not a particularly handsome man but he was fun, entertaining and a fabulous storyteller. Elizabeth laughed so hard at the antics of the young Richard and Darcy that it made her stomach hurt.  
Darcy was none too pleased with the revelations though, he took up his usual corner of the room when he was not standing, gazing out the windows. 

Elizabeth utilized the quiet to venture outside. The garden of Netherfield was magnificently manicured, reminiscent of times past when people had gardeners and money to spare on the endeavour.  
The autumn was at its finest, some late roses were still in bloom.  
She picked an armful of flowers to decorate the dining table. She looked up from the flower bed as a figure retreated from one of the windows.   
Elizabeth thought that Jane might be looking for her and she hurried inside but Jane was being entertained by Charles and had no need of her sister.

Elizabeth sliced and sprinkled salt on her aubergines for the Parmigiana di Melanzane and set the dough for a focaccia to go with.   
Arranged the flowers on the table and sat down with her phone to check her email.

***

Richard and Darcy had gone out but made it back, just in time for dinner.   
Richard slapped his forehead and asked for a chair. He would prefer to be seated before the announcement that Caroline had been cooking was revealed. Elizabeth laughed and retorted that he was perfectly safe as Caroline had not cooked but she had.  
Richard blew up his cheeks and dried imaginary sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Thank God for that, I was starting to suspect I was being poisoned.”

“Oh, you might still be poisoned but not by food poisoning, hopefully,” Elizabeth laughed and urged everyone to tuck in.

“This was lovely, despite the lack of meat. Cute and domestically trained, what a catch hey Darcy?”

Richard wriggled his brows at his cousin who looked back at him with unamused disapproval. 

Elizabeth gave her plate all her focus, to hide her blush while giving the pretension of not listening.

“I suppose it is not uncommon for the less fortunate to engage in such menial tasks.” 

Caroline’s grating voice managed to ruin Richard’s kind compliment and the rest of the dinner continued in silence. 

Jane and Charles volunteered to clean up afterwards and Elizabeth was eager for news from the two that had been busy all day.

“Did you find out anything more about Jane’s attacker today?”

Richard opened his mouth to reply but Darcy stilled him with a look and a barely perceptive shake of his head.

“No, there is nothing new Elizabeth.” 

Darcy settled in his nook after his dismissal of her enquiry. Elizabeth grabbed her phone and opened her kindle app to continue her Julie Garwood book about the Highland bride. She tucked her legs up in the chair and was immediately lost to her surroundings as the Laird and his new bride were attacked by outlaws.

The party retired early. The females went to bed while the men gathered in the office to discuss their progress in a certain matter.

***

Beyond Netherfield’s gardens lay the sea with a sandy beach, stretching as far as the eye could see.   
A lone figure was sauntering along the water’s edge, her hair blowing in the brisk autumn wind.  
Staying at Netherfield had been such a good idea when she thought that Jane needed her help. Not so much after her quick recovery and subsequent flirting with Charles Bingley. 

Caroline did not like Elizabeth very much, a feeling that was mutual and Richard was away most of the day. Darcy’s talkativeness on her first day must have been an anomaly as he had hardly spoken ten words to her since. It even seemed like he went out of his way to avoid her. Perhaps he had thought she had known about the see-through dress and were trying to put her off. ‘Well, he was perfectly safe from her. She was not into the arrogant, hipster type. Although he did lack the beard, he was otherwise faultlessly groomed. Elizabeth preferred a more manly man, a little less perfect would suit her nicely. 

Elizabeth longed to go home but it was four gruelling days away.  
Idleness did not come easy to Elizabeth, she needed something to occupy her and it was only so much reading one could do in a day. She had automatically become the cook of all meals, although nothing had been uttered but she did not mind. At least those hours were filled with something to do. 

That afternoon, she begged to accompany Charles when he went shopping, just to get out of the house.  
She passed her own car when she reached Meryton and thought it was a strange place to have religious meetings, as it was mostly Muslims that lived in that area. Perhaps they were trying to convert someone into Christianity like the Jehovah’s Witnesses that sometimes rang the doorbell on Longbourn.  
If someone could do it though, it would be Mary. She had the stamina and persistence to bore you into submission.

***

Netherfield had a gym in the basement, who would have thought!   
Caroline practically dragged Elizabeth along to join her and the reason became apparent when she entered. Darcy and Richard were working out and Elizabeth surmised that Caroline wanted someone less athletic to make herself look better.  
Elizabeth never went to the gym, she preferred to walk or run outside and there were always plenty of manual labour to perform at Longbourn, making a membership at the gym redundant.   
The only form of organised sport Elizabeth partook in was dancing but it had kept her fit, if not particularly lean. 

Elizabeth struggled with some of the apparatus but Richard was quick to come to her aid when she did something wrong. He was a patient teacher but Elizabeth believed she had delivered what Caroline had wanted. A little humiliation was nothing new to Elizabeth and she took it in a stride. She even managed to work up a sweat which made a perfect excuse for leaving early as she needed a shower before she made dinner.

The next few days brought nothing new. Elizabeth asked of news of the investigation, she got nothing in return and by the fourth day, she stopped enquiring. 

By Sunday she was exhausted.   
Fending off Caroline’s barbs, avoiding the smooching Jane and Charles, staying out of Darcy’s way and dodging Richard’s flirtations were wearing on her. Not that she had anything against Richard, she liked him well enough but not in that way. She was worried that she sent out mixed signals as he was coming on to her stronger by each passing day.

When her father finally pulled up the driveway, she was out the door before he had parked his car. She was not leaving immediately though as the men disappeared into the study for two long ours.


	4. The Gala

Chapter 4 The Gala

Elizabeth had hoped that her father might be a little more forthcoming with information about the incident at the pub but she was sorely mistaken.  
Other than curtailing her solitary walks in case the perpetrator was still in the area, nothing of importance was said. They had no leads, no clues and no idea who had drugged Jane. They believed that the lack of evidence was a sign that it was very unlikely that the man had stayed in the area but to be on the safe side, neither Jane nor Elizabeth were allowed to venture out on their own.

Safely at home at Longbourn, Fanny Bennet fussed and fretted until she had made certain that there were no significant alterations in her most beautiful daughter’s appearance.   
Lydia seemed a little disappointed, hoping to be forwarded from second-most to most beautiful Bennet daughter. 

Monday and work were a blessing. Elizabeth’s mood had revived itself by the time she entered the lab to gossip with Charlotte.

Charlotte had been Elizabeth’s best friend since she had found herself stuck in a tree at the tender age of five. Screaming at the top of her lungs that she was going to marry the much older John Lucas when she came of age. The seven years older Charlotte had helped her down. She had proceeded with a thorough scolding of her own brother John who had dared Elizabeth to climb after Elizabeth had drunk the leftover liquor from the grownups table at a Longbourn barbeque. An incident her family frequently reminded her of...

Elizabeth divulged everything that had happened the previous week to Charlotte and attacked the mountain of work that accumulated in her week of absence.

After dinner, she took Longbourn’s Bernese Mountain Dog, Chevy for a run up Oakham Mount. He at least had missed her.  
Entering the summit, if you can call the top of a small hill such, with a sea view. Elizabeth sat down on a boulder, Chevy flopped to the ground, panting at her feet.

“Sorry old chap, a little strenuous to run up the hill in your dotage...”

Patting him fondly and rubbing him behind the ear, his incessant puffing concealed the approaching footsteps. 

“You are supposed to stay at home and not venture out alone.”

“I am not alone.”

“I meant before I came upon you.”

“I wasn’t alone before you came either. Chevy, say hello to Mr Darcy.”

Chevy let out two deep barks on command.

“Good boy, now you can eat him if you like...”

Chevy wasn’t much of a guard dog and went happily to sniff the newcomer with his tail wagging.

“Yes, he will do admirably for those who are scared of getting drool on their trousers.” Darcy was not impressed by the gentle giant. 

“That should at least include Caroline Bingley, happy thought indeed. Goodbye Mr Darcy, see you at work.”

“Wait Elizabeth, perhaps I should escort you home?”

“That will not be necessary but thank you for offering.”

“It was a rhetorical question, lead the way.”

Elizabeth frowned and set out in a brisk pace that had Chevy panting like mad while Darcy did not break a sweat. Elizabeth had momentarily forgot his excellent performance in the gym and the fact that his legs were the length of a giant. Out stripping him was impossible.  
Not until Longbourn was in sight, did he permit her to dismiss him.   
Darcy stood gazing after her until she had entered the kitchen door, the two had not exchanged a single word on their journey. 

The week flew by, Saturday was upon them in a trice and Elizabeth, Jane and Charlotte were getting ready together in Elizabeth’s room.

Charlotte had bought a simple blue gown that she felt comfortable in, refused to do anything to her hair except for straightening it and added very little makeup. 

Jane had gone all out with a fiery red, strapless number with a naughty split in the skirt that earned her applause and cheeky whistles from Elizabeth and Charlotte.   
Elizabeth used her time well, it took the best part of an hour to straighten her hair that reached beyond her waist when the curls were gone. She pulled it up in a tight, high ponytail and put on her black, Audrey Hepburn inspired, armless dress with a halter-neck and a knee-length skirt. The plateau, spiked, high-heeled shoes added a touch of badass to her otherwise classic look. Smokey eyes and red lipstick in place, she was ready to go...

“Look who has come to escort you, Lizzy!” 

Elizabeth heart plummeted to her stomach when she saw who her mother had made arrangements with. Charlotte proved herself as her knight in shining armour once more and stepped up. 

“Bill, are you offering us a lift? How thoughtful of you. May I sit in the front with you? I am afraid I get easily carsick...”

“Of course, Charlotte. I would not like to get anything vile on my new red leather seats. They are custom made...  
Did you get a second-hand dress Elizabeth? It looks like something from the fifties. Well, Lady Catherine would not expect you to get anything new on your meagre earnings.  
Come along girls. Best not keep Lady Catherine waiting.”

***

The first person Elizabeth spotted on her way into the gala was Caroline Bingley. Dressed in a blue, silk dress that plummeted both in front and the back. Elizabeth silently wondered if she had taped it or if the workers of the Lebon factory might get a show to go with their dinner and dancing.   
When she turned her back to Elizabeth, she caught herself staring to assuage if it was her but-crack or just her spine that was showing over the lining. Shaking herself out of her contemplations, she noticed that Charlotte had gone with Mr Collins to speak with the boss, Jane had Charles plastered at her side and she was left awkwardly behind. Spotting Tommy at the open bar (yay), she went and joined him. He eyed her warily.

“Lizzy?”

“Yes, Tommy, like my shoes. Elizabeth lifted her leg and waved it in front of him.”

“So those are what all your overtime pay has gone in to. Very nice but not particularly comfortable, I would guess.”

“No, they are not.” Elizabeth chuckled. 

“No date tonight?”

“Luckily no! My mother had some plans but they were thankfully thwarted by my knight in shining armour, also known as Charlotte Lucas. Long story... Best to be blissfully ignorant, Tommy.”

“I will take your word for it Elizabeth. Let us find our seats, there are table cards so it will not be too difficult.”

Elizabeth was seated with the research and development team and the laboratory team, it looked like Lady Catherine was not into mixing the different departments. Jane sat at her table as head of HR, with the other leaders. She was content as she had at her side. No coincidence, Elizabeth believed...   
Elizabeth had no complaints herself, being with familiar faces were no hardship and the conversation flowed easily. 

Lady Catherine stood up when the dessert was being served and revealed that she was going to retire. Mr Darcy had six months to find a replacement while taking over some of her tasks.   
She was cutting down her work hours after Christmas and by summer she would quit entirely. She did not reveal her reasons but Elizabeth knew that her daughter was not well. Suffering from Cystic Fibrosis while approaching thirty, her health was deteriorating rather quickly and a lung transplant might be her only option.   
Elizabeth would not miss her as her boss but her tough life as a young widow and mother of a child with a serious condition might have hardened her a little more than necessary...

The dinner guests broke up after Lady Catherine’s speech had ended and people scattered around as the tables were removed to give room for a dance floor. 

Elizabeth found Charlotte at the bar, nursing a pint and Elizabeth ordered a strawberry daiquiri.   
Jane was smooching with Charles on the dancefloor, Elizabeth doubted she would see she much of her sister for the rest of the evening or split the cab-fare with her on her way home...

Elizabeth turned back to the bar and what she thought would be Charlotte but she had disappeared. Substituting her was Mr Darcy. 

He stood much too close, towering over her with that inscrutable expression he mastered so well. Elizabeth felt her breath quickening.   
He offered her his hand as the tone of Conga with Gloria Estefan resonated through the speakers. She took his hand, against her better judgement and she was spun out on the dancefloor before he divested himself of his jacket, pulled her close and worked those hips in rhythms she had not thought he possessed.   
‘Who would have thought the stiff and stoic Mr Darcy could Salsa?’ Elizabeth was shaken to the core and barely kept up with him, until she pulled herself together and noticed that the others had stopped dancing. Curious onlookers grazed the outskirts of the dancefloor and she better deliver or she would never hear the end of it...

“Do you know the flip that Ashley and Ola did on Strictly in thirteen?”

Darcy whispered in her ear and Elizabeth immediately understood which he meant.

“Yes.”

“Can you do it?”

“Can you jump that high?”

Darcy snorted at her disbelief. 

“It is hardly a jump at all, merely a stretch of the legs.”

‘Bloody idiot, insulting her for her height or rather lack thereof...’

Darcy pretended to slap her and she spun away from him in frantic pirouettes. She halted and pointed her finger at him, wiggling it disapprovingly while he ran towards her. He jumped, his crotch hit her face and she flipped backwards, grabbing his hips, a split second before her head hit the floor. Gasps from their audience perturbed through her dance induced haze.   
Darcy fell to his knees and she cartwheeled over him, grabbed his hand and pulled him up to her. They ended the dance with their bodies touching at every achievable surface, his hands roaming up and down her back while her hands was clutched behind his neck.  
The applause roared, interspersed with cheeky whistles. They bowed to the crowd as Lady Catherine came towards them, whispering furiously in Darcy’s ear. He paid her no mind.

“A little fresh air to cool down would be nice. Will you join me Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth nodded and followed him out onto the terrace after he had collected his jacket from the floor.   
He did not stop there but snatched her hand and continued down to the beach, pulling her along.   
The cool breeze was nice when you had worked up a sweat but her shoes were not meant for uneven sandy beaches.   
She flipped the offending torture devices off her feet but the late November sand was freezing. She shuddered and Darcy drew her to him, wrapping her in his jacket, feeding her his warmth.   
Without the borrowed centimetres from her shoes, Mr Darcy dwarfed her. A head and then some, taller than she and infinitely near. A shiver from coldness travelled up her legs and made her shake slightly, she clenched her jaw to prevent her teeth from clattering.  
Darcy seized her derrière, hoisted her up his body and slid his hands down her thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her arms slid around his neck by their own violation. With the shoes still in her hand, dangling behind his back.  
Elizabeth hovered a few centimetres above him for a moment before he lowered her to eye level.   
His hot breath fanned her cheek and then her ear.

It took a minute to realise they were moving.  
Back to Netherfield, it would seem but he did not take her back to the gala. He ascended the stairs from the terrace to the upstairs balcony. He let go of her, with one hand to slide open the balcony door and enter a massive, masculine bedroom with everything one could possibly need.   
Elizabeth let her eyes roam from the leather couch and slick telly to the black leather headboard. Alarm bells should be ringing in her ears but her mind was blank, even before his mouth descended on hers, extinguishing every possibility for rational thought.  
The kiss was ravenous and all-consuming as it made everything from her scalp to her toes tingle. She heard more than felt the sipper opening and her dress fell down and bunched at her waist. Almost simultaneously, her brassiere followed. Darcy left her mouth bereft, to sprinkle kisses down her neck. Elizabeth tilted her head back to give him better access when she made the mistake of opening her eyes. 

A couple of metres in front of her stood Caroline Bingley. Her hands shielding her eyes to get a better look inside.  
Elizabeth gasped and stiffened in Darcy’s arms, still clinging to him for dear life.  
Darcy turned to see what she was looking at and chuckled. 

“She cannot see you, it is a one-way window.”

“But I can see her and she is giving me the creeps.”

Darcy slid her down to the floor, pressed the remote on the coffee table and the curtains drew to a close with a subtle humming sound. 

“Where were we,” Darcy muttered while divesting his jacket, shirt and trousers on his way towards her.

“You are overdressed...”

A flick of his wrist sent the dress to the floor and Elizabeth was left standing in her lacy pants.  
Something very similar to a growl emitted from Darcy’s throat as he closed the distance between them and backed Elizabeth until her calves hit the edge of the bed and tipped her.  
Darcy was there, hovering over her on all fours. Kissing her lips with unexpected gentleness before he lowered to suckle her nipple.

Elizabeth soared with need and could hardly keep still.   
She let her fingers graze his muscled upper arms, continued down his clavicle bone before threading them into his hair, scratching his scalp with her nails whilst pulling him up to feast on his lips. Her hands let go of his hair to trail down his back but he slid away, retreating even further down while holding her eyes captive in a smouldering gaze. 

His fingertips slipped under the edge of her pants, pulling it down her thighs in an agonisingly slow pace while never letting go of her eyes. He rose and his boxer followed her pants to the floor.

A flicker of doubt entered her eyes as they wandered over his naked form. He did not notice as he was spreading her legs and his eyes were now occupied elsewhere.   
Crawling back into bed, he drove his hands under her derrière and lifted her high up in the air. Elizabeth lay her calves on his shoulders for support as he spread her lips with his thumbs before the first flick of his tongue, connected with her pearl. Elizabeth’s back arched and she supported herself with her hands over her head, grasping the sheets in a sensual version of the bridge from her gymnastics years.  
The broadside of his tongue rasped over her crevice and Elizabeth exploded in euphoria. Darcy suckled her pearl, hard while wave after wave of utter bliss wafted through her body. It was ebbing when her back descended to the mattress and he drove himself home with no further ado.   
Elizabeth yelped and stiffened. 

Darcy felt it, the moment he entered her, that something was fundamentally wrong.   
He was on the larger side but with her juices literally dripping, she should have been well lubricated...  
He looked down on her clenched eyes and pinched mouth, as it dawned on him...  
He looked heavenward as the answer would come from above. At least a confirmation that he had not done her any irreparable damage. 

Elizabeth had adjusted to the fullness and the sharp pain had abated. Darcy had frozen above her, his eyes towards the sky.   
She supposed she should have told him, that she was untouched but it was a little late for that now.  
She let her fingers caress his chiselled jawbone before pulling him back down to her waiting lips.   
She kissed him lazily and sloppily while running her hands down his back to his rear where she squeezed his cheeks to urge him on.

“I am so sorry Elizabeth...”

“What for?”

“Causing you pain and...”

“It was inevitable. I am not in any pain now.”

“Do you want me to continue.”

“No, I flat out demand it. Please, I need more.”

Darcy ardour had cooled and he was much more in control of himself. Settling in an excruciatingly slow and gentle pace while roaming her body with his hands and kissing her pert nipples.  
It drove Elizabeth as close to insanity as she had ever been. She hung on the edge of the cliff but could not manage to keel over.

“More!” She begged.

“Tell me what you need Elizabeth.”

“I will not break Darcy.”

“William.”

Darcy kept his slow pace, even slowed it down a bit more but impaled her harder and deeper. Elizabeth moaned in pleasure and he finally upped his speed, to the point where he was slamming into her at a ferocious pace. Flesh were clashing and the bed rocked against the wall when Elizabeth’s crescent erupted and she braised her hands on the headboard to meet his frantic thrusts with answering ones of her own.   
The world tilted on its axis, she fell weightless into a spiral as Darcy roared his release above her, she quite possibly blacked out for an instant.

Darcy was dripping wet when he finally collapsed on top of her. He made a feeble attempt to withdraw his weight from her petit frame but she clutched him to her. Savouring the feel of his heavy frame, pressing her into the mattress.  
It was comforting and heavenly delightful, to be so close to someone. To feel bare skin against her own sent frissons down her spine. If only this moment could last forever, Elizabeth would be entirely content.  
Darcy rose on his arms and his eyes flickered between Elizabeth’s eyes. Brushing some wet strands of hair from her face and followed the tresses down to its end.

“Why have you straightened your hair?”

“It is fashionable...”

“Screw fashion.”

“I usually do...”

“Come let’s shower.”

Elizabeth let herself be dragged into the bathroom and the massive cubical shower with the largest showerhead she had ever seen.  
Her eyes went wide when she caught sight of the bathtub to her right though.

“Bubbles! You have a Jacuzzi? You lucky dog.”

“Care to join me, Madame?” Darcy exaggerated gesticulating towards the tub, made Elizabeth laugh and curtsy.

“Yes, milord. It would be an honour.”

She loosened her hair and her scalp thanked her. She rubbed the sore object with her fingertips while the tub filled up with steaming hot water.   
Half-filled, she could not wait any longer, entered and glided to the bottom. Immersing herself entirely under the surface.   
Resurfacing by gliding her back along his torso, Darcy started to massage her scalp.

“If you should tire of the CEO thingy you could be an excellent masseuse...” 

“I shall bear that in mind Elizabeth.” 

Darcy continued with kneading her tense shoulders before his hands strayed south and the water started sloshing out of the tub ere long.


	5. The Walk of Shame

Chapter 5 The Walk of Shame

“Elizabeth, it is time to wake up.”

Elizabeth stretched her arms over her head and her hands connected with a strange material. She forced her eyes open and blinked at her unfamiliar surroundings. Her memory came crushing back to her mind.

‘Darcy!’

“You have to get up Liz, I am closing up the house and I was about to leave. I was just checking if we had left anything of significance... I guess not but I can hardly leave with a stowaway on board, can I?”

Elizabeth listened frantically for noises from the bathroom that would contradict her abandonment. It was deadly silent when Caroline started to tug on the sheet to get her to move.  
Elizabeth tugged back and wrapped the duvet around her naked body and jumped to her feet to get away from the annoying female.   
Her senses were still slow and the reality had not sunken in yet.

“Really Liz! Lost your innocence to the biggest Casanova of the twenty-first century?”

Caroline was pointing at two small droplets of blood that were left on sheets while chuckling wickedly.

“I’ll bet you will live to regret that foolish decision...”

“Where is Darcy?”

“Oh, he left hours ago with Charles. They are off to Asia for a couple of months, on a long-planned bachelor vacation. You know, before the responsibility of Lebon hits him along with all his other responsibilities... I think they were heading for Dubai first but they will travel all over the place.  
My brother Charles will most likely get engaged to Darcy’s sister when they come back, they have been going out for ages but she is still a little young.   
Well, enough small talk. Can you be ready to leave in say, ten minutes? I will do the rest of my round and wait for you at the door.”

Elizabeth waited for the door to close behind Caroline before she started to rummage the room for her clothes and any form of message from Darcy. Hopefully, he had left her some form of note... The clothes were folded neatly on the coffee table but there was nothing else in the room.   
Dressed in her wrinkled dress with her shoes in her hand, Elizabeth walked to the door where Caroline awaited her.  
Caroline looked at the dangling shoes.

“Need a lift?”

Elizabeth was grateful. The thought of walking home in the offending objects was not appealing. Neither was calling Charlotte or Jane to come and pick her up...

“Thank you, I would highly appreciate it.”

Caroline smiled and she gestured to the Tesla that was left in the parking lot. Elizabeth got in and they drove to Longbourn in silence which left Elizabeth with a few minutes to get her story straight. 

“So long, Liz. I doubt we shall ever see each other again but do not waste much time, longing for Darcy. He is not worth it, take it from someone with experience. He goes through women as quickly as others change their underwear.”

Elizabeth did not reply.

***

A cacophony of voices met her as soon as she entered the front door.

“Where have you been?”

“The phone is invented you know.”

“You look like a fright!”

“I got a little sick last night and Caroline was kind enough to lend me a room and a shower at Netherfield. I fell asleep on the bed and awoke there this morning when Caroline was locking up the house.”

“You know you cannot hold your liquor Elizabeth. Charlotte told me you had strawberry daiquiri, it has rum Elizabeth...” Jane was gently admonishing her.

“I know. I solemnly swear to never touch the stuff ever again Jane.”

Elizabeth meant it. Strawberry daiquiri had obviously taken away her senses, although she had had only the one.

“What do you mean by left, Lizzy? Surely, you mean Caroline...”

You could rely on Fanny Bennet to pick out the juicy titbits in a conversation.

“No, they have all left. Mr Bingley and his friend has left for an extended vacation in Asia. Dubai was mentioned...”

Elizabeth could not bring herself to mention him by name. Neither did she mention the connection between Georgiana and Charles. Darcy would surely have ended Charles flirtations with her sister if that allegation had any substance to it.

“You knew they were leaving?” Jane interrupted incredulously. 

“Not until this morning. I thought... Well, it does not matter what I thought. They have left and the trip had been planned for months, according to Caroline. Did Charles not mention anything about it to you, Jane?”

“No, this is the first time I have heard anything about it. I cannot believe...”

“They will be back in a couple of months, you have his number, you may call him...”

“Yes, I will do that.”

Jane hastened from the room and Elizabeth went to her room to change into comfortable clothes to sneak out for a walk. Jane arrested her as soon as she left her room.

“His number is no longer in use Elizabeth. What can it mean.”

Elizabeth thought it meant that he was as big of an arsehole as his friend but did not voice it out loud.

“It might have been stolen last night and he has blocked it to prevent misuse. I am certain he will call you later when he has gotten hold of a new one. It is Sunday though, so you might not expect to hear from him until tomorrow.”

“Yes, you are probably right Lizzy. Most likely there is a reasonable explanation for this. I knew he was off to London today, to sort out some business but I was under the impression that it was to enable him to stay here longer. I will just wait and see...  
Did you run into Mr Darcy? He disappeared around the same time as you?”

“No, he does not seem to bear company easily though. Perhaps he went to bed early as their flight must have left in the wee hours of the morning.”

“Yes, I guess you are right. Have a pleasant walk, hopefully, it will sober you up.”

Jane snickered and Elizabeth forced a smile. She could not tell Jane about her stupid mistake. Not until Charles was back and she would no longer worry about him. If she told Jane now, it would take away her hope and Elizabeth could not bring herself to do that. At least not yet.

Chevy had no problem with keeping up with his mistress on this walk. She was dragging her feet deep in thought and when they reached their favoured boulder on Oakham mount he lay his head in her lap and looked at her with those deep brown eyes.

“Before you sits the stupidest girl in all of England, if not the world Chevy. You should look at me with disapproval, not affection.”

Chevy sensed her dark mood and licked the tears of her face.

‘What an imbecile she was. Believing that a night in each others arms meant anything at all. She was probably just a number in a long line of girls, throwing themselves at the rich and famous Mr Darcy.   
A dance and a little human compassion and she was flat on her back with no thought of how she despised the man himself.   
No, that was not exactly true... She was attracted to him from the moment they met but his blunt dismissal had hurt her and she had pretended not to like him, fooling herself most of all.  
The pull between them was not only physical. He intrigued her because she could not understand him. He flaunted convention and went his own way, that was what had intrigued her. Apart from his good looks that would liquefy the insides of the staunchest maiden. 

Elizabeth had not protected her innocence for any religious beliefs. She had just not met anyone who had remotely enticed her until Darcy. It was not a conscious choice but a happenstance of circumstances.

It was really too late to cry over spilt milk but Elizabeth cried anyhow. Big fat tears rolled down her cheek for her own stupidity and the knowledge that it would be a long while before she was going to experience those wonderful sensations again.   
Next time, she would be much more discerning when choosing her partner in crime. At least make sure that he had some feelings for her before she entered his bed...

***

Monday came with a big shock that would rattle the employees of Lebon to their core. 

During the evening of the gala, someone had broken into the old bunker and stolen the two components that made out the military explosive, Elizabeth was testing for stability.   
The staff was in an uproar, accusations and pointed fingers were thrown in every direction until it became clear, a few days later, that George Wickham was also missing. 

‘Darcy had surely chosen an importune moment to go on vacation,’ Elizabeth thought wryly. Simultaneously as she hoped that the conundrum would not bring him back to the premises.   
She was by no means ready to face him with any resemblance of equanimity. Would not be for months, if she was to be totally honest with herself. A sense of loss and longing lingered in her heart. Despite her ferocious attempts to conquer her frayed emotions. They stubbornly held her captive. 

Jane was faring no better. No phone calls from Charles were to be had. Neither had she succeeded in reaching him at his work. His secretary had taken her number but informed her that he was on an extended vacation and would not be taking on anything work-related before he was back.  
Jane had mentioned that her enquiry was about a personal matter and the secretary had promised to forward her number to his closest relation. Caroline would surely get the message across, Jane settled in quiet anticipation and jumped to the task, every time her phone rang.

It was not to be... Three weeks passed with not a word from Charles, no news on the waylaid explosives nor its carrier but that was not in the forefront of Elizabeth’s mind as her courses had not come either...

Buying a pregnancy test in Meryton was out of the question so Elizabeth drove to Dover to get the intimidating object but did not procrastinate in putting it to use...

It was negative and Elizabeth sighed in relief. Would have served her right for her stupidity but it was the best Christmas gift she had had in years...

***

Christmas was a noisy affair at Longbourn. Troubles at work were put aside as the police had taken over the case.  
There had been interrogations of all the employees and Elizabeth had not lied, only omitted certain facts that were of no interest to the investigation.   
Richard had been involved but Elizabeth avoided him like the plague. Too much bad memories connected with that chap.   
It dawned on her why both George and Richard had paid her so much attention on their night out in London though. Richard must have known something about George and George had had a hidden agenda for his interest in her... Humbling thought indeed, combined with her recent experience with an unintentional one-night-stand.

New Year’s came and went. Jane was down in an all-time low, trying to deny it but it was plain for everyone to see.  
The Gardiner’s had mercy on their niece and invited her to come with them to Greece in February. She would look after their kids for a couple of nights during their two weeks stay, leaving the Gardiner’s to go on a couple of romantic dates which did not happen very often.

***

It was early in the morning of the first week of February and Elizabeth, as the designated driver, was up and getting dressed.  
She was driving Jane and the Gardiner’s to the airport for their two weeks sojourn to the Greek Island of Crete.  
It would be good for her sister to take her mind off the troubles in her heart. Not a word from Charles meant that it was very unlikely there would ever be one...

Elizabeth tugged at her jeans but it was of no use. They did not fit. Elizabeth was certain she had not gained any weight, quite the opposite in fact and she grabbed another pair of skinny jeans, the first pair must have gotten mixed up at the wrong temperature in washing machine or worse, taken a turn in the tumble dryer...   
No, that was the second pair that did not fit and a sense of dread enveloped her heart. Grabbing a pair of loose fitted trousers, she shrugged and went to fetch her sister.

After dropping off the holidaymakers, she stopped by the drugstore to get another pregnancy test. She was not too worried, the first had been negative and she attributed her lack of courses to stress. She had googled it and it seemed likely with all the things that happened over the last few months. Besides, she was not inflicted with any of the other signs of being enceinte... At least, that was what she told herself when she got back home and weed on the stick.  
She did not even get to put it down on the counter before a blue heart appeared in the little window. 

Elizabeth chucked the traitor in the bin, grabbed her jacket and ran the entire way to Oakham mount. 

‘How could this have happened?’ Elizabeth chuckled at her own stupidity, she knew exactly how it happened but why had the first test been negative? It did not make any sense.’

‘Elizabeth counted the weeks, ten weeks along. An August baby, a Leo or a Virgo, how ironic...’

The thought of motherhood settled in Elizabeth’s mind whilst a new calmness enveloped her. The panic she had thought would descend upon her, did not come. She had made her bed and now she had to lay in it. She nestled the secret in her heart and went home with a new determination. She had a job, money for a deposit for a small apartment in her bank account and the rest of her education would have come at a later date.  
When uncle Edward came home from his vacation, she would ask him if she could have a full-time job. Saving every penny she could spare for the expenses to come.


	6. The Best Laid Plans...

Chapter 6 The Best Laid Plans...

A week into her well earned holiday, Jane was unwinding at the beach. Content with her life and a respite from the adorable but exhausting Gardiner children. Her phone rang and she almost did not answer it as the display revealed that her mother was at the other end.

“Jane, you must get back here. Elizabeth is in the hospital and your father mentioned something about bleeding. Perhaps she has an ulcer, I am going crazy with worry. You must come home immediately. Mrs Goulding had an ulcer and she died!”

“Mrs Goulding was ninety-three years old mama and she died from a heart attack...”

“I am certain she was weakened from her ulcer, she was in so much pain from that. Oh my poor Lizzy, she is probably dying as we speak...”

“I am sure it is not so bad mama but I will book the first flight home. Let me hang up and I will call the airline immediately.”

“Thank you, Jane, you are such a good daughter to your poor mama. I am going distracted without you, I can tell you that.”

Jane hung up but she called her father first. By her account of the conversation, she guessed he must be with her sister.   
He did not answer and Jane sought out the Gardiner’s to give them the bad news of her curtailed vacation and hospitalized sister. 

***

At the hospital, Mr Bennet was confused, to put it mildly.  
He had initially thought his daughter had wet herself at the age of twenty no less but when she touched it and he could spot the taint of blood. He had rushed her to his car and drove like a maniac to the hospital in Dover. Her stomach had begun cramping and he had led his daughter that was literally doubled over in pain, to an exam room when she had asked him to leave before speaking to the doctor.   
Sitting in the waiting room, comprehension dawned on him. He had found the test in the bin and had kept a scrutinising look upon his daughters to figure out whom it could belong to.   
Never in a million years would he have guessed it was Elizabeth’s.

A nurse came and informed him that Elizabeth needed a simple procedure done but that there was nothing to worry about and she would most likely be released after a few hours.   
She would alert him as soon as his daughter was back in her room and ready to receive a visitor.   
Mr Bennet sat in deep thought of where it all had gone wrong and an hour and a half to ponder before the nurse came to fetch him.

Elizabeth lay facing away from him when he entered but he could tell she was crying. All the anger and disappointment left his mind and compassion for his daughter swelled.

“Elizabeth, what happened?”

“I had a miscarriage...”

“Yes, I know... But how come you were pregnant and did not tell me Elizabeth? You know you can come to me with anything...”

Thomas Bennet lay down beside his daughter and enveloped her in his arms and she turned and sobbed into his chest. The words came tumbling out, disjointed and broken off by subsequent sobs but by a half-hour, he had the full story. The event at Netherfield (sanse details), the negative test that the doctor had explained could be a faulty test or she might not produce enough hormones in the initial stages to sustain a pregnancy.   
The repercussions of what this solution meant for her future were left between the lines.   
How she had discovered the truth, a week ago, and the plans she had made for herself and her baby. It all came out in the end, except for the significant second component in the matter.

“Who was the father Elizabeth? Did he know of your predicament?”

“No, he was gone by the next morning...”

“Charles Bingley!” Thomas Bennet was appalled and did not hide it well.

“No! No, it was Mr Darcy...”

“I thought you did not like him nor he you, to be frank.”

“No, neither did I...”

“Opposites attracted hey.”

“Yes, something like that...”

Elizabeth was exhausted and spent by her revelations, she fell asleep in her father’s comforting embrace. 

Mr Bennet extracted himself from his daughter and went into the hallway to make a call to inform his wife. Telling her a fib about the reasons for Elizabeth’s hospitalization, enabling him to comfort her by the knowledge that nothing serious was wrong with their daughter. She was resting comfortably and would be home by the evening. As good as new in body, albeit not in soul. The latter he left out of his rendition of the events to his wife.

He did, however, pick up on the events pertaining to Jane’s curtailed vacation and immediately rang his daughter to counteract the return from her much deserved respite from home. 

Elizabeth was fine, just a bit of gas. She was fit as a fiddle and would be going home in a few hours. There was absolutely no reason for Jane to hurry home for such a trivial matter.  
Jane was relieved, both for Elizabeth and herself. Promising to buy her sister something special from Crete before she came home in less than a week.

***

Elizabeth body healed well and a week after her ordeal she was back at work and school as nothing of significance had happened.   
Her mind was in a worse state. She was plagued with guilt.  
The doctor had comforted her that her run the week prior to her miscarriage, most likely had nothing to do with the outcome but Elizabeth remembered her own treacherous thoughts.   
Counting the negative test from December as an early Christmas present to herself when a positive one was the real gift in life. A lesson hard-learned and even harder to accept.

Elizabeth’s parents and siblings were at a loss on what to do.   
Her downwards spiralling mood continued through March and by April they figured that something must be done.  
Mr Bennet had kept his promise and told no one the real reason for her hospitalization. Elizabeth had not found it possible to confide in Jane either. Her mood was improving, Elizabeth saw no reason to send her back to square one with her sordid tale.

***

Elizabeth no longer went to the cafeteria during her lunch break, she preferred to eat in the cosy dining room they had at the laboratory.   
Time had passed but the thought of running into the current elusive CEO was not tempting.  
Bringing homemade sandwiches that she kept in their little fridge had helped her to save even more money, not that she had anything specific in mind.   
Besides, her uncle, Tommy, Charlotte and the other laboratory technicians were excellent company with their bawdy humour.  
Gladys was approaching her retirement but had a wry sense of humour and would not shy away from lightening the ambience by any means she deemed necessary.  
Mr Gardiner's face suddenly connected with a flying newspaper.

“Sorry! I thought it was a bit quiet here today,” Gladys uttered unrepentant when a blast thundered through the air.

Elizabeth felt the ground wobble and shake beneath her feet.  
It felt like someone had put cotton pads in her ears as the pressure-wave went through the lab.  
She glanced up at the windows. The Plexiglas had withstood the force but the frames had splintered.  
A mushroom of smoke floated in the air above the Ballistic area.

“No!” Mr Gardiner slammed his fist on the table, coffee slushing out of their mugs.

Elizabeth rose and pulled Charlotte with her.

“We have to cordon off the inner area, we need to go down and close the gate.”

“It looks like the Nitroglycerin factory. It is good it happened at the lunch-hour.”

“No, Charlotte. The ballistic department eat an hour earlier than us...”

Elizabeth shook so badly that Gladys had to help her into her orange overall that identified her as emergency personnel in Lebon's Industrial Safety.  
She ran to the old van that was at the Laboratory’s disposal for collecting samples.   
Lebon was a modern factory where the units were spread out over a vast area to prohibit an explosion from spreading from one unit to another, should the worst come to pass...

Surpassing engine parts on the road, they were the first to reach the gate to close and guard it. Nobody would be allowed to enter into the inner area before it was absolutely certain that there would be no more explosions coming.   
Sirens pierced the air from police cars, ambulances and fire trucks. Nobody had called them but the explosion had been heard in a radius of several kilometres, making the emergency call unnecessary.

The press was the next to arrive and they were guided to the cafeteria situated outside the production area and quickly turned into a press conference room. Bill Collins was guiding them inside, pronouncing that explosives occasionally detonated, why, he had no idea...

Elizabeth cringed and hoped someone from the administration would soon join the babbling fool.  
She could not abandon her post with the ludicrous journalists, pressing her to let them pass.  
A helicopter from the press soon circled over the site of the incident.

“Morons,” Charlotte hissed. “Are they not aware that there might be a second explosion. It is still burning down there and nobody knows if or when a second explosion might come.”

“They are idiots! But I thought I heard two blasts, close together.”

“Perhaps you are right but there might be a third blast and I for one, prefer to keep a safe distance until we know.”

“If only all the journalists were as sensible as you Charlotte. Isn't that Mr Moraitis?”

The head of the Ballistic department was heading towards them, clutching his hand to his chest.

“Good job girls let no one in!”

“No, of course not. What happened?”

“The nitroglycerin factory blew up, it’s just the shell left. Not a trace left of the machine but the mesh in the roof is still intact which essentially means that it was pulverized before it went through the roof. The nitrocellulose house is gone, nothing left. The storehouse is still there. Thank God because that’s where Conrad was when it went off.”

“André?”

“He called in sick this morning or we wouldn’t have found him. He would have been outside the Nitroglycerin factory, taping up barrels...”

“Nobody is missing then?”

“No, we are all accounted for from my department. It was pure luck that it was lunchtime for the daytime workers and few were around and about.”

“May I see your hand? I can tell you are injured...”

“No, thank you, Elizabeth. It is just a broken thumb from an involuntary flight over my desk at the office. That shockwave was powerful but I have to go and speak to the administration...”

“Thank you for informing us,” Elizabeth called after his retreating back.

Eight hours later, Elizabeth was superseded by Leyla from the Industrial Safety personnel.  
She and Charlotte were allowed to detour to the laboratory to get their stuff.   
Elizabeth had received fifty-four calls and a hundred and four texts. None were from Fitzwilliam Darcy.

***

Two weeks later, the factory was still closed and under investigation, nothing would be done until the reason for the blast had been discovered. It was consensually believed that the freshly made Nitroglycerin had been the culprit but the Abel stability test, that Elizabeth had run that morning, showed 13 minutes. There were no reasons to suspect anything wrong with the liquid itself. Although known to self-detonate if the acid wasn’t sufficiently washed out, the stability test belied that.

Five-hundred windows needed to be replaced, twelve door frames was shattered. The ventilation system in the lab had dislocated in the joints, making it entirely possible that the roof had actually been lifted by the shockwave.   
The employees of Lebon were given a temporarily leave of absence until the damages could be fixed and the reason for the blast had been discovered.

The future looked bleak for Lebon, now under two investigations...

It was the week before Easter and Elizabeth called Tuva, her friend in Norway to borrow her log cabin in the mountains of Hemsedal. It was close to a skiing resort but with the season at an end, it would offer Elizabeth the remote location and undisturbed peace that she was craving. The return of Lebon's CEO had nothing to do with it...

She booked a flight to Oslo and leased a car to drive to Hemsedal. She had entirely forgotten that the Norwegians drove on the wrong side of the road...   
Luckily, it was not too much traffic and she drove to the parking lot and walked the last kilometre into the cabin.   
It had no road access in the winter months and there was still a little snow lingering this high up in altitude.   
It suited her perfectly, very few would venture her way now that the snow was too far gone to be skiing and it was too wet for hiking...

***

The highly anticipated peace found Elizabeth in her remote but beautiful surroundings.   
It was not as she was off the grid or anything like that. The cabin had power and running water. It even had an outdoor Jacuzzi for lazy evenings but Elizabeth glared at the offending object and did not utilize the luxurious item.

It was her third day and Elizabeth was cooking dinner for one.  
Feeling in the mood for spoiling herself, she had gotten hold of some king crab at the shop and was preparing chilli-butter to go on top for the two minutes it was going in the oven, as soon as the baguette was finished.   
She had taken a liking to Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill album and it was streaming through her earplugs while she sang out loud with all the force her lung capacity could muster.

“And I'm here, to remind you  
Of the mess you left when you went away  
It's not fair, to deny me  
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me  
You, you, you oughta know”

The light tap on her shoulder sent her into a frenzied panic and she grabbed what she had at hand, turned on her heel and smacked the offender in the head with her frying pan.  
It was a tall man with an overgrown beard that looked nothing like the kept beard of a hipster who parried the blow of the frying pan with his arm.  
He was tanned and his clothes were wrinkled, giving her the impression of a wanderer or even a homeless person. 

“Elizabeth, I just want to talk to you.”

Elizabeth froze at the familiar deep baritone voice and when he gazed at her with his cobalt blue eyes, she finally recognised him...  
She stood rooted to the spot with the frying pan raised over her head, ready to strike again at the least provocation. 

“You and I have nothing to talk about. Please leave before I give you another taste of my frying pan.”

“I am sorry Elizabeth, for leaving you without waking you after the gala...   
Richard came and woke me up, a few minutes after we had fallen asleep and I had to leave. I thought you would not appreciate being woken up...  
I spoke to your father and he said that you had not gotten my note...  
I did leave a note for you on the bedside table...”

“There was no note on the bedside table when I woke up. Only Caroline, urging me to get out as she was locking up the house since you and your arsehole friend Charles had left for an extended holiday in Dubai. I hope you had a pleasant trip, bringing back some souvenirs like syphilis, good day Mr Darcy.   
Since you found your way in, I believe you may find your way out, just as easily...”

“I left a note with my new phone number and a goodbye message. I guess it must have blown down to the floor by the draft when Caroline entered...”

“There was no note, I looked everywhere, even under the bed. It is of no matter as you could have called me at any moment.”

“I did not have your number.”

“It is listed.”

“I thought you would not have anything to do with me since I... was less than precautious when...”

“Do not remind me of my stupidity, I have had enough time to dwell on that, thank you very much.”

“Please Elizabeth, just hear me out.”

The man in front of her was obviously too stupid to get the fuck out of her face. Well, if he would not leave, she would...

“My aunt told me you had been unwell, you can at least have the decency to tell me if you are alright after the explosion at Lebon...”

“Too little too late Mr Darcy! I could have been dead for weeks for all you care...”

“I knew, of course, that there had been no casualties...”

Tears swelled in Elizabeth’s eyes and threatened to spill. The frying pan fell to the floor with a clunk as Elizabeth took off out the door.   
She ran over heather and sodden patches of snow until a bush of cloudberries tripped her and she fell on her face onto some of last years wrinkled berries. Quite fitting she thought...

Heavy footsteps had followed and watched her downfall. She felt the bush give under his weight as he knelt beside her. 

“Are you hurt? Please do not cry, I cannot bear it...”

“I was not ill, I was pregnant.”

The silence lasted an eternity but Elizabeth dared not lift her face from her prickly hiding place. She felt him raise himself up to a standing position. 

“You had an abortion?” The steel in his voice was unmistakable. 

“No! I had a miscarriage, about eleven weeks along.” 

Elizabeth raised her head, fury glinting from her brown eyes that seemed to have turned black at the moment.   
Darcy paled and staggered back.   
She turned from him and took a step towards the cabin when he seized her hand and pulled her to him.

“I am so sorry I was not there for you Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth handed Darcy the earplug that he had pulled from her ear when he entered the cabin, her phone was still playing in her back pocket.  
Darcy recognised the voice of the Norwegian singer and songwriter Maria Mena, singing Fuck you, repeatedly in his ear.

“A little childish, perhaps Elizabeth?”

He regretted his words as soon as they were out. Fuelling her fury would not aid his cause. He needed her help...  
He reined in his own temper and decided he would make an effort to reason with her.  
She was hurting, it was hurt not hatred that fuelled her anger, he must try to remember that. 

***

“I did not abandon you, Elizabeth. Richard had found out about the theft at the factory. We had suspected Wickham for some foul play but we had no idea he would steal explosives. He drugged my sister to get his hands on her inheritance, last summer. He only managed to withdraw a small portion and we chose to stay quiet about it because of the repercussions it would have on my sister if it became known that she had taken drugs. Willingly, in this instance. We kept our eyes on him and worried about his position at Lebon but without any evidence, we had little to work with.  
I was appraised of the fact after he had been given the position. Big mistake, obviously...  
Charles and I went after him when we discovered he had booked a flight to Dubai.  
Richard got us tickets to a very early flight and we went in search for him. He had not travelled to Dubai as it turned out. He left England, a few days later than us. We followed him to Syria but ended up in Yemen. We lost track of him and came back.   
Richard was adamant that we did not contact anyone in England directly because of the possibility that the call could be traced. Endangering us and the person we contacted back home.   
I could not let a secretary call you Elizabeth. I did not know where we stood with each other. We never had a chance to talk...  
I should have made more of an effort though...”

“Yes, you should have.”

“What about us? Where do we stand now?”

“I don’t know. There never were any us, were there? Not really...  
I do not know you and since we are being open... I did not even like you very much. Well, I thought I didn’t after you insulted my vanity and showed so openly that you didn’t like me.”

“Insulting your vanity? I practically had my eyes down your cleavage your entire stay at Netherfield!” 

He was losing and he knew it but the girl, yes girl, in front of him, made such ridiculous accusations that there was no hope that reason would have any effect. Had she no idea of what she was doing to him. Upsetting his equilibrium, making him lose his temper. Darcy never lost his temper, he was the most centred person he knew.

“You avoided me like the plague and the insult came prior to my stay at Netherfield.”

The girl was deranged, he never insulted anyone! He did avoid her a little because she was messing with his head. In a purely physical way that could be easily overcome, but still...  
He did feel genuinely sorrowful for the child lost though, he had always wanted to be a father and pictured himself with a larger brood than were common these days.   
He even had a picture in his head of their mother, not that he had ever met her but she had to be well educated, highly fashionable and of the first circles. Not a nerdy, punked-up lab rat. Better leave her in no doubt of that.

“Usually, the girls come to me...”

“Are you listening to yourself? How arrogant is that?”

‘Why had that backfired? She should be proud that he was asking this favour of her, not insulting him...

“This might be a problem...”

“Why?”

“Because we are supposed to marry this Saturday...”

“Right, now I know you are pulling my leg. Come on Mr Darcy...”

“William!”

“Sure, William but I am still not marrying you this Saturday.”

“I am afraid it is inevitable... It is only on paper of course.”

“Why? Are you in need of a green card?”

“I guess I forgot to tell you... There is a new development that I have forgot to tell you. Your sister is missing.”

“Jane?” Elizabeth whispered. 

Finally, he had her attention, why had he not mentioned it sooner. Bringing in the artillery so to speak, with the mention of a person she loved. ‘Why did that hurt by the way?’ Darcy shook his head, he had to stay focused.

“No, Mary.”

“What happened?”

“We do not know exactly but the religious meetings she was attending was held by an Islamic organisation that might enlist Caucasians to perform terrorist attacks. They are much less visible in certain environments...”

“Surely, Mary would not fall for such a scheme. She is much too pious.”

“Perhaps too pious, maybe her current church group did not live up to her expectations and she sought something with more depth and substance. She might even have been tricked.  
In essentials, Mary has been tracked to a remote area in Yemen, they lost her not far from where Charles and I lost track of Wickham. It is too far fetched to believe it could be coincidental and this is where you come in...”

“Me?”

“Yes and me...”

“Explain!”

“Charles cannot be away from work any longer, he has some legal issues related to Lebon that only he can handle. I, on the other hand, have more freedom to travel.   
Did you know Richard walked in on us, that night at Netherfield and I think it was rather obvious what we had been doing? Well, this was his idea....”

Elizabeth felt the humiliation sink in. She had not thought of that, what must Richard have been thinking of her. He who had flirted so outrageously with her at Netherfield and had been blown off but after one sultry dance with Darcy, she had given it all up.

“He had noticed my interest when you staid to tend Jane and he flirted with you to get a reaction from me.”

“Really? I guess he did not succeed...”

“He succeeded, I did not address it in public...   
Anyway, he has come up with a bulletproof plan of us marrying to enable us to travel to Yemen together. They do not allow unmarried couples to share a room at the hotel’s not travel together and it would make it easier for me to protect you.”

“I am going to Yemen?”

“Yes, to help me with retrieving your sister. If she has been brainwashed, as we suspect, we will need someone persuasive to convince her to come home with us. We could use force but that would attract unwanted attention and we still need to find Wickham.   
We were kind of hoping she would be able to help us in that respect.   
It will not be without risks, Yemen is a difficult country to travel with poor infrastructure and a culture that might seem outdated to us but it is the reality they live in.   
You will have to be very cautious but to your advantage, you will be wearing a burka so you will not be easily recognised.”

“So that is the reason for the wild bush that is growing on your face?”

“Yes.”

Darcy stroked his beard subconsciously. 

“I think it suits you, it makes you a little less perfect.”

“So you like my appearance?”

“Of course, who would not? 

His smiled and winked.

“Forget it! You are still in the doghouse. You might look like an Adonis and you definitely have deep pockets but that will not make you a good husband, I mean boyfriend, I mean... Sorry! I did not mean to suggest that you and I are...” 

Elizabeth had exhausted her vocabulary.

Darcy just smiled. Wide and confident, baring his perfect teeth and revealing an adorable dimple on his left cheek that had a potential to weaken Elizabeth’s resolve.

The entire scheme was utter madness but how could she refuse to help Mary?   
Elizabeth was absolutely certain that Mary would never let herself be brainwashed into converting into anything. She was too stubborn, too level headed for such nonsense. It must be much worse than a religious turn around... She must have been taken by force.

“I can work with that. Doghouse indeed, I have my own place you know. Several places to be exact but we do not have time for nit-picking. It is too late to leave tonight but I have plane tickets for tomorrow and you need to pack up your things.”

He was letting her know that she was just a notch on his headboard. One of the many women he had conquered.   
Caroline had tried to tell her but she had brushed it off as jealous spite because she was in love... No, definitely not that. Enchanted, bewitched perhaps but what they had shared had nothing to do with love. It was lust, pure and simple. She was the inexperienced fool that had misinterpreted the passions of a moment with true abiding love. She had learned her lesson though. She was a fool no more and Darcy did no longer have any effect on her.

“I have not said yes.”

Darcy went down on his knees and sat back on his haunches. Took Elizabeth’s hands in his and looked deeply into her eyes.   
Elizabeth quite liked to have the upper hand, looking down on someone for a change.

“Will you travel to Yemen with me as my wife to retrieve your sister Elizabeth? I promise not to make any advances towards you and to protect you with my life, if necessary.

We will live under appalling circumstances and suffer heat, horrible travel arrangements, treacherous conditions and quite possibly a stomach ailment or two but we will have a story to tell our grandchildren.”

“When you put it like that, who could resist? I must try that stomach ailment at my first convenience, sounds lovely. Just as long as it will not be our grandchildren but mine and yours in separate contexts, I’ll be fine.”

“You will not be sorry.”

“Oh yes I will quite possibly regret it before take-off from London but I cannot let Mary fend for herself. She does not even have a Mr Darcy to protect her. Not that I am particularly confident in your abilities but Mary has no one. I still do not understand why we have to marry, could we not fake it?”

“It is too dangerous. If we were found out in Yemen we would be arrested and there is a slight possibility for a swift execution for our sins...”

Elizabeth sat pondering the effects of her decision when a major fault in his explanation occurred to her.

“I wonder at the Interpol sending out amateurs when they have trained people to do these things.”

“That is right, they are not the ones who are sending us to Yemen.”

“OMG, are we freelancing?”

“You could say that but I do have some support in the endeavour. We will not be without aid.”

“Richard, freelancing on the side?”

“Among others. I would not ask this of you if I did not have a safety net in place for a speedy retreat.”

“You must tell me these things Darcy, I cannot trust you if you keep leaving out important details.”

Not that she trusted him any further than she could throw him but they had to work together somehow and keeping significant details from her, were out of the question. 

“Right, I can work on that too. It is not easy for me to involve others in my business, I usually work alone.”

“You do not lean on Charles from time to time?”

Darcy gave her an intense look.

“I value his legal advice but let’s face it, he his tail-wagging puppy.”

“Is he womanising, pup or just an ignorant pup.”

“He does fall in love rather easily but he his not a player...”

“Hmm...”

Elizabeth gazed out the window, lost in thought. Something was off, there was a piece missing in the puzzle...

“Can you not track the explosives, it is not an insignificant amount. It must be difficult to bring it to Yemen without any traces left behind.”

Darcy looked uncomfortable as he was pondering a particularly difficult decision with his brows creased and his hand stroking his beard unconsciously. 

“The explosives never left England. We believe they were taken with the intention to use them here, not in Yemen. That is why we need Wickham so badly. To try to extract where they plan an attack and hopefully stop it before it’s too late.”

So that was why Darcy was so eager to find her sister. It was definitely not to save Elizabeth’s sister but to keep a major lawsuit from Lebon's not so stellar reputation.

Elizabeth thought it might prove an adventure. How hard could it be? Travel to an exotic location and experience a different culture.   
For several moments, their discussion had taken her thoughts away from her sadness and sorrow.   
Somehow, she no longer felt it had anything to do with Darcy, he had recovered from his loss with a few inanities. It was her loss to bear alone.


	7. The Sham

Chapter 7 The sham

Preparing for departure involved some entertaining moments.   
To try to pass as residents of Yemen, at least until they opened their mouths, it was decided that they needed a spray tan...

Elizabeth was taking full advantage and sauntered into the box in a bikini of stamp-like proportions. Darcy retorted with entering the box in his boxer but he tossed it out before the spraying began.   
Elizabeth nicked the boxers and hard bargain negotiations ensued.  
Elizabeth won a trip to a sushi restaurant before their departure.   
Darcy was not a fan but tagged along and had to pay the bill while grousing about the price for uncooked fish. 

The flight would take six hours to Riyadh where they would transfer to another plane and continue on a two-hour flight to the capital of Sana'a.  
The Old Sana'a Palace Hotel would be their base before their travel arrangements would lose the comfort and head out into the unknown of little travelled areas. 

A big conundrum was what to do in terms of the wedding. Should they make it widely known or slip into an office unnoticed.   
Richard decided it was best if it were known and could support the claim of legitimacy if they should need it.  
He planned a masterful discovery of their elopement but how to execute it, he had not thought about.

“Vegas?” Elizabeth suggested. 

“Too tacky...” Darcy furrowed his brows, not impressed by her suggestion. 

“A visit to Kleinfeld’s to buy a ridiculously expensive wedding dress, it is then. Pnina Tornai is my favourite...” Elizabeth replied ironically. 

Darcy scoffed but Richard embraced the idea.

“That is actually a good idea Elizabeth. A trip to New York on first-class, alert a few journalists and voila!” Richard made a theatrical bow to his audience. 

Darcy had been right about Richard. He carried no affection for her, he had played her to rattle his cousin. She had been a piece in their battle of who was the bigger idiot and she was ready to award them both with the highest order.

“Make the arrangements Richard. We could leave today if you can manage to get us on a flight and make an at the last minute appointment with Kleinfeld’s.”

“Yeah, right! They have waiting lists as long as Caroline’s list of bathroom necessities...”

“We will see.” Richard cryptically replied and were out the door without as much as a by you leave.

Elizabeth and Darcy continued with the gruelling task of fitting Elizabeth with a wardrobe that said chic and wealthy wife of a billionaire.  
Elizabeth’s own clothes had been uniformly discarded as rags by the two highest-ranking officers of idiosyncrasy.

Elizabeth dreaded the thought of spending countless hours treading the streets of London’s most fashionable boutiques. Fearing they would take one look at her and usher her out of their store in a ‘Pretty Woman' moment but to her surprise. The boutique came to her and she sat in a chair waving some to a rack to try on while others were sent right back where they came from. Darcy sat next to her, occasionally voicing an opinion.   
She still had to try them on but the entire ordeal was over in a couple of hours. 

Darcy got a phone call that he answered in private. Re-entering, he persuaded Elizabeth to wear a new outfit as they were off to the fashionable tea room Sketch in Mayfair for lunch.

The quirky interior in the eighteenth-century townhouse with its uniformly pink colour palette was the place to be seen.  
Waiting at their table were Richard.  
He waved a couple of plane-tickets in their faces as soon as they sat down.

“You will leave this evening on an overnight flight. You have a ten o’clock appointment at Kleinfeld's with none other than the famous Randy Fenoli...”

Richard made a dramatic pause to gauge their reaction but Elizabeth was too stunned to speak while Darcy was too unimpressed to comment. 

“Is that all the reaction I get for making the impossible, possible?  
I am hurt.” Richard clutched his chest dramatically. 

“You were absolutely right Elizabeth. They were fully booked for months but Mr Fenoli is no longer working as a consultant as he is designing his own line. He was persuaded to take on the mystery bride of England’s most sought after billionaire bachelor. I offered him an insane amount of tips which by the way... You were going to pay for it Darcy but he declined. He thought the publicity would be enough of a reward for his time.”

Richard grinned at his own success, despite the lukewarm reception it had gotten.

“You know it is customary to bring an entourage of bridesmaids and family while the groom is usually not present at the wedding dress shopping?” Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Richard. 

“Good, that will give us more publicity. May I suggest that you go straight to your hotel and pack. Smile Elizabeth, I just saw a famous gossip blogger entering. Darcy, you should hold Elizabeth’s hand or something. Remember that the two of you are madly in love and about to elope. Preferably without that scowl on your face Darcy...”

Elizabeth plastered an insincere smile on her face and lay her hand on Darcy’s thigh, squeezing a tad harder than a tender touch would demand. He answered her by flexing his thigh muscles.

“Is that all you got? Common! Put on a little show for our incognito gawker stalker.”

Darcy turned towards Elizabeth, tilted his head an leaned in. Stopped an inch from her mouth and let his warm breath waft over cheeks. Elizabeth held her breath, anticipating the kiss that she was sure would come, except that it didn’t.   
His lips hovered over her mouth but did not descend to bridge the gap. Elizabeth filled her burning lungs with a sharp gasp of air and Darcy brushed his lips over her mouth before he retreated an inch.  
Elizabeth, coiled with tension, could not take it any longer. She closed the gap between them and gave Darcy a soft but lingering kiss. 

“Fabulicious demonstration of upper persuasion towards lower invasion Darcy. Smooth!”

‘You could obviously count on Richard to break an incantation,” Elizabeth thought wryly, not that she was in any way displeased with his interruption. His insinuation, she could have done without.   
She pulled back and felt her cheeks bloom with redness. She pressed her plump lips together. Combined with her wide eyes she looked both surprised and embarrassed which was a fairly accurate description of her feelings.

Within a couple of hours, it was all over the internet. London’s heartthrob Darcy had been captured by a little, curly ilwaad* from Hertfordshire.

***

The flight to New York went without a hitch. Elizabeth had worried that she would not be able to sleep but she hadn’t flown first class before.  
Comfortable seats, a sleep mask and earplugs made her sleep like a babe. They left London at eleven and Elizabeth remembered nothing until they landed in New York at ten to six.

They took a cab to the hotel, the Peninsula on Fifth Avenue. A deluxe king suite had been booked in their name and Darcy did not blink at the four thousand dollars a night price.

The room was exquisite. It had a fireplace, view over Fifth Avenue, a massive bathtub, two walk-in closets and the biggest bed Elizabeth had ever seen but there was a but...   
It had only the one bed in the ninety-eight square metres suite... Elizabeth scanned the room but no extra bed was materialising before her eyes. There was a comfortable looking sofa in front of the fireplace though. It would do for someone of her stature but it was too short for her overgrown travelling companion, obviously raised on flagpole seeds... Elizabeth threw a wistful glance at the comfortable bed and sighed heavily.

“Don’t be daft, we can share...”

‘How could the schmuck read her thoughts?’ 

“Yes. I suppose we must. This place seems to be lacking a doghouse...”

Darcy chuckled and put away his suitcase in the walk-in closet, calling: “Hungry?”

“Definitely, wallowing in luxury is certainly whetting my appetite. I'll just change...”

Darcy groaned which Elizabeth heard. She slipped out of her travelling clothes and into her grandmother’s vintage white dress. She thought it fitting for a day of wedding dress shopping. Although virginal white were a little out of place, she felt she had a piece of her grandmother with her when she wore her dress.   
Grandmother Bennet had been something else. Not your typical old nana but an eccentric bohemian with a zest for life. 

“I am ready, where are we going?”

“You will just have to wait and see...”

Leaving the Peninsula, a limousine pulled up and the driver held open the door. Elizabeth tried to step around it when Darcy seized her elbow and guided her inside the luxury vehicle. A bottle of Dom Perignon Rose from 2002 lei in the cooler. Darcy popped open the bottle, filled their glasses and relaxed into the seat, Elizabeth thanked him for the glass he offered to her but felt utterly out of place and grew quiet and pensive. 

The elaborate suite, driving a limousine, drinking champagne, it was all too much.   
She understood he was playing for the gallery but it felt decidedly uncomfortable and proved how different their situations were. 

They stopped at a quaint little breakfast bar of no particular notice and Elizabeth breathed a little easier.   
The limousine left since Kleinfeld was just around the corner. After devouring a bowl of oatmeal porridge with apple and cinnamon while Darcy had toast with bacon and eggs, they headed out towards their destination.   
Elizabeth felt her mood lighten at the familiar facade from the TV series, the anticipation was making her stomach flop.  
She hastened her stride and Darcy fell behind. Elizabeth turned and urged him on, laughing at his obvious discomfort, the tide had turned. A paparazzi popped up from nowhere and snapped a few photos as the door opened and out came none other than, Randy Fenoli, himself.  
He welcomed her with a kiss on both cheeks like an old friend which Elizabeth didn’t mind. She felt like she knew him already as his bridal reality shows were a big favourite in the Bennet household. Elizabeth very much doubted her mother had missed a single episode...  
After the menfolk had shook hands, Randy opened the door and gestured them inside.   
They were led through to an open area in the middle of the store with a small podium for Elizabeth and a couch for Darcy. 

“No doghouse here either, what am I going to do with you?” Elizabeth whispered in Darcy’s ear and he barked out a brief laugh. 

“I believe I can manage the deprivation.”

Elizabeth was guided to a chair, next to the couch Darcy occupied. 

Randy clapped his hands with glee and started his usual questions for the bride.  
Where had they met, how long had they been together and what were they looking for...

“I have no idea...” Elizabeth hadn’t thought that far.

“Perhaps you could suggest something?”

“Pnina Tornai is her favourite designer, perhaps we could start there Randy?” 

Elizabeth had all but forgot that Darcy was present but was pleasantly surprised he had remembered as much.

“Yes, her gowns are beautiful but I am a little short... I do not know if her designs will look good on someone that isn’t tall and... willowy...”

“Oh, she has Elizabeth, no worries about that. What is your budget?”

“10 000,” a deep baritone, voice announced.

Elizabeth almost fainted. That was a ridiculous amount of money for a dress. Surely she could find something for well under half of that but she did not say anything. Just followed Randy obediently to the dressing room. Removed her dress and put on a robe while she waited for Randy to return with a selection of dresses.

Dress number one was a fit and flare with an illusion corset. Elizabeth felt bared but decided to show Darcy anyway. At 5600, it was ridiculously expensive albeit well within the budget.   
He sat shifting uncomfortably. Elizabeth noticed that people were gathered on the outskirts of the room. Whispering and nodding discretely in their direction which made Elizabeth feel even more uncomfortable than she already was. Darcy looked flushed which made Elizabeth wonder if he might be a little shy...

Looking at herself in the mirror she acknowledged that the dress was, in fact, flattering but it did not have the expression she was looking for. It did not make her feel like a bride, a ludicrous emotion for a fake bride but still.

Back in the dressing room, she tried on an A-line dress. Traditional but it made her look like a sack of potatoes so she decided not to show it.   
Randy rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“I have a ball gown in mind, do you wear heels?”

“The higher the better...”

“Good.”

Randy came back with a romantic ball gown with large crystals along the sweetheart neckline that cascaded down the cleavage and around the waistline. It had a laced up back and a cathedral train. It made Elizabeth’s waist look tiny and she squealed when she caught a glimpse of her reflection. A pair of insanely high, platform shoes with lace and crystals made her six inches taller and she glided out to show Darcy.

Darcy actually looked a little chocked up. ‘He must be a better actor than I thought,’ Elizabeth mused until she again caught her own image in the mirror. The dress was divine. Perfectly modest, compared to the illusion corset on the other dress but it accentuated her hourglass figure to the max.

“With such a long train, it can be a bit much with a long veil as well. Have you thought about veils Elizabeth?”

“No, that is to say. I do not think the dress needs one and it is not like Darcy haven’t seen me before... It is a little redundant, don’t you think?”

“Whatever you like Elizabeth but I have another idea. Wait here...”

Randy was back in a minute with a tiara that matched the crystals on the dress.

“With your beautiful curls, I suggest you pin it away from the face like this but leave it hanging down the back. The tiara picks up the crystals in the dress, without being too much. What do you say, Elizabeth?”

“I say yes to the dress!”

Randy chuckled and grabbed the price tag on the dress. Elizabeth’s breath hitched as she had forgotten about the price.

“Oh my!”

Elizabeth’s heart plummeted to her stomach while she held her breath. Waiting for Randy to reveal the amount she would be lightening Darcy’s coffers.

“Must be your lucky day! It is on sale for 9999...”

“We’ll take it,” Darcy said.

“Your bride has already announced her acceptance. You are both making my job very easy for me. May I offer my congratulations, Mr Darcy, what a beautiful bride you have.”

“Thank you!”

***

Utterly spent, Elizabeth thought they were heading back to the hotel but Darcy guided her to Sixth Street and Victoria's Secret.  
Elizabeth blushed scarlet.

“Is this really necessary? It is a pro forma wedding after all. No one will see what is underneath the dress...”

“Do you have a white strapless corset?”

“No...”

“You cannot use a bra with straps under a strapless dress. Even I know that.”

“I suppose not...”

“Why are you so reluctant to get what you need? My sister wouldn’t hesitate for a nanosecond for the opportunity to shop anything, anywhere.”

“Your sister is probably paying for her own shopping.”

“Hardly...”

“It is embarrassing to accept so much money from someone unrelated to me. Not that I would have accepted it from anyone related to me either...   
I should not have bought that ball gown, it was way too expensive. Perhaps we could go back and...”

“We are getting married Elizabeth.”

“Not for real though. We are just faking it for a short time.”

“Sarah Ellis said in her book, The Wives of England that: Acknowledging one important truth will make a successful marriage - it is the superiority of your husband, simply as a man...”

“When was that?”

“1843.”

Which earned him a scoff, a snort and a deep-throated laugh from his fiancée. 

“Married life is unbounded happiness – if one has a husband one worships. It is a foretaste of heaven! Queen Victoria, about the same time.   
Did you know that the book you mentioned was dedicated to the Queen? It makes one wonder how she managed to reign for forty-odd years, after Albert’s death....”

Elizabeth countered. She didn’t mention that the quote from the queen had been said in the context ‘without pregnancies’ as that topic was too raw to mention. 

Their bickering were starting to draw attention in the store. Onlookers were throwing them furtive glances.   
Darcy grabbed her waist with both hands and pulled her close. Pretending to snuggle her ear.

“Listen Elizabeth. I have money enough. The money we have spent today is pocket change to me. Besides, you are doing this to help me remember.”

“No. I am doing it to rescue my sister. You are helping me!”

“You are so stubborn...”

“Yes, you better get used to that because I am not planning to change anytime soon.”

“I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere Mr Darcy.” 

Darcy chuckled in her ear, then used his hands on her hips to turn her around.   
With a firm hand on the small of her back, he guided her to a shop assistant and asked for help to purchase her wedding unmentionables. 

Elizabeth did not put on a show for Darcy at this store but she did manage to buy the necessary or unnecessary items, depending on your perception...

Finally, they headed back to the hotel and had a quick lunch at the restaurant before the limo picked them up again.   
It stopped at Central Park where Frank and his horse, Big Red were waiting for them. A Valentine’s tour with all the sights, including a photoshoot and a silk red rose, followed. Elizabeth had never been to New York and thought it very considerate of Darcy to include such touristy excursion to their agenda.  
He didn’t seem to enjoy the ride as much as she did, sitting quietly and deep in thought, gazing out over the park.  
Elizabeth would have loved to be able to read his thoughts. This adventure had cost him much more than her, was he having second thoughts?  
When one looked at their endeavour objectively, it was pure madness. Still...

Elizabeth shuddered, it was getting a bit chilly as the late April evening drew near. Darcy put his arm around her and pulled her close to his body. He must have had a furnace underneath his jacket as he radiated heat. Elizabeth snuggled even closer, for warmth, definitely only for warmth...

They dined at the hotel, ordering room service as none of them had any adventurousness left to explore.  
Neither mentioned the elephant in the room. It had been swept under the carpet, for now.

Elizabeth went to the bathroom first. Filled the large bathtub to the rim and immersed herself in a cloud of bubbles. This she could get used to... She grabbed her earplugs, chose some soothing Jazz on Spotify, surrendered to the peace and relaxed for the first time in days.  
Half an hour later, the water was getting too cold for comfort. She pulled the plug and readied herself for sleep. She reluctantly put on a baggy t-shirt for modesty, preferring to sleep commando but that was not an option. She paddled to bed with her phone, opened her kindle app to read herself to sleep.

“Goodnight Darcy.”

Darcy who were tapping incessantly on his laptop, didn’t look up but wished her goodnight.

Elizabeth read until her eyes grew heavy and turned off her phone.  
Laying in the semi-darkness, waiting for sleep to claim her, it proved difficult. She needed to get used to Darcy’s presence but his nearness unsettled her equilibrium.

Eventually, Darcy lay down beside her at a respectable distance...  
Both lay awake for at least another hour before exhaustion claimed them.

***

Elizabeth awoke early as was her want. Darcy had snuggled up behind her during the night, holding her in a comfortable embrace.   
She removed his limp arm from her waist, slid out of the bed and tiptoed to the bathroom. Momentarily forgetting that her clothes were in the walk-in closet.   
Elizabeth wrapped a towel around her body and tiptoed to her closet. Glancing at Darcy, she hadn’t needed to bother. He was awake, probably waiting for her to get out of the bathroom. 

“Hi. Sorry if I woke you up... I‘ll just get some clothes.”

“Yes.”

‘Ouch, that was awkward for some reason. How was she going to get through weeks in Darcy’s close proximity? She had to get a grip on herself. Cold and aloof, yep that should do it...’

*Ilwaad – a beautiful female that appears alluring and mysterious (Urban dictionary)


	8. Preparing for Departure

Chapter 8 Preparing for Departure 

Elizabeth was married and had experienced the least romantic wedding night ever. Totally wasted use of lingerie if she ever had heard of one.   
The bride and groom had separate bedrooms in the luxury suite at the Baglioni hotel. It had not been enough for the groom who had slipped away in the evening.   
Not that Elizabeth was complaining but she had to constantly remind herself that this was fake, a sham for the Yemen authorities who probably couldn’t care less if they had married or not.  
‘It was probably only fake brides who felt this anticlimactic on their first day of marriage. It wasn’t real, her feelings were not real...’

Caroline had practically called Darcy a manwhore, Richard had seemed surprised he could kiss... Who had the right of it? Elizabeth turned to Mr Google to do a little research of her own.  
William Darcy, she didn’t need to type all the letters before a bucket load of articles popped up on her screen. She pressed images.  
At the top, it were several pictures of him with a beautiful but young-looking blond. The headline said: ‘Billionaire bachelor Darcy, takes his sister to...’

Phew...

Scrolling downwards, she found a few pictures with Caroline Bingley wrapped possessively around his person, wearing practically nothing. She had obviously had him first if the pictures were anything to go by... But there were lots of others, most of them were blond, tall and gorgeous. It seemed to be his three unnegotiable on his checklist.   
She was the epitome of stupidity, searching for answers that could hurt nobody but herself...

To accentuate her morose mood, it was pouring down outside. Fat raindrops ran down her window, obscuring her view of Hyde Park.  
Enough...  
They were headed to the doctor’s office later, to get their vaccinations and medications before travelling to Yemen. Elizabeth decided to Google for advice, what she found was disheartening...

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to Yemen. This includes the mainland and all islands. If you’re in Yemen, you should leave immediately. If you choose to remain in Yemen, you should minimise movement around the country and within cities and towns, monitor developments in the local security situation and follow other precautions in this travel advice.  
The security situation in Yemen remains unstable. Fighting continues across the country, which has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis and damaged key infrastructure. Access to food, clean water, fuel and medical supplies is difficult throughout Yemen. There is a high risk of being caught in indiscriminate gunfire or shelling.  
The operations of the British Embassy in Sana’a have been suspended since February 2015 and diplomatic staff have been withdrawn. Consular support is not available from the British government from within Yemen. If you need to speak to a consular officer in the UK, call the FCO in London on +44 (0)20 7008 1500.  
The British government can’t provide any form of assisted departure to British nationals in Yemen. There are no evacuation procedures in place, in line with the FCO’s longstanding policy on assistance in Yemen. The FCO has been consistently advising against all travel to Yemen and for UK nationals to leave Yemen since March 2011.

***

Darcy was back at the Baglioni, wondering if one could suffer from pre-travel jetlag...  
Serious by nature, he was rarely sullen but he felt cheated.   
One might say it was self-inflicted which did nothing to lighten his gloom.  
He had planned his wedding night many times. No specific bride was needed. Dress, food and venue had not been part of it.

Neither was Elizabeth the bride he would have chosen. It was quite literally Richard who had chosen her for him. Explaining thoroughly the hazards foreign women could meet in Yemen unprotected. Two Russian women had been shot because they did not wear the Islamic kaftan abaya... 

He had, of course, made sure that Elizabeth’s suitcases were filled with the appropriate clothing, including a burka and several hijabs and abayas.   
Neither would he ever have suggested to her that they travel there if he had not been there himself and met the people.   
He and Bingley had been met with warmth and an unending hospitality. The Yemini people loved visitors, regardless of their status as friends or strangers.

Travelling were the main obstacle. Foreigners were not allowed to use public transportation and with multiple checkpoints along every road due to the unrest from the civil war and terrorist activities, it was the main issue.

What he had not foreseen in this master plan of his, was the turbulence of a reunion with his one-night-stand from the Netherfield gala, would produce. He should have been wiser...

He was attracted to her, physically. Even in a baggy t-shirt and messy hair. Particularly in a baggy t-shirt. He wondered why not every woman understood that men wanted to guess what was underneath. A hint or two were nice but to have it blatantly obvious in an in your face kind of way, was off-putting.  
He even liked spending time with her as she was easy to talk to, neither was it uncomfortable to sit in silence. She had a reasonable good head for someone so young. 

He had expected her to rant a little about the dangers of travelling to Yemen, perhaps even refuse to accompany him.  
What he had not expected was to be hit in the head with a frying pan nor be informed of his brief period as a father to be...  
Darcy groaned and put his head in his hands. ‘He hadn’t handled that well... He could not even remember what he had said but he was pretty damned certain it had not been anything wise.   
She hadn’t brought it up since but he was certain that the only one who had any knowledge apart from themselves were Mr Bennet. Perhaps she didn’t want to talk...  
Mr Bennet had not been impressed with Darcy for hijacking his daughter to a foreign country but he had looked at them when they were together with calculation.

All the Bennets had attended their wedding.   
Jane had immediately forgiven Bingley, as soon as he had explained the circumstances and they were smooching in the corner throughout the day.  
No one else had thrown him an evil eye which made him presume that they did not know, puzzling...   
Fanny had even tried to push him towards her youngest daughter and that during his wedding to one of her other daughters!   
They all knew it was a sham wedding, of course, to enable Elizabeth to travel safely to retrieve her sister. They had had to spill the beans to all the Bennets. It was not what he would have preferred but it could not be helped.   
He hoped for their safety in Yemen, that Fanny and Lydia would be able to keep their mouths shut or else...’

Richard ended his reflections by sauntering into the room. Without knocking as usual which was one of the reasons Elizabeth was here in the first place.  
Richard had walked in on them at Netherfield and Darcy had been a little too honest with him on their way back to London.  
Darcy blamed the lack of sleep for his loose tongue on the occasion.   
Shamefaced, that he had taken her maidenhood with so little restraint, had prompted him to unburden his guilty conscience to Richard.  
Who would have thought that Richard had not experienced it either! He had been no help at all.

Richard made himself comfortable in a chair and delved right into uncomfortable topics.

“So, how was your wedding night Darcy?”

Darcy scowled at his cousin but he was unperturbed.

“Uneventful.”

“That explains the grumpy expression, your face look like the crutch of an old man.”

“Thank you, Richard. I can always count on you to cheer me up.”

“Why did you not shag her? It’s not as you haven’t done it before...”

Darcy sighed heavily. He knew that when Richard was on to the bone, he'd stop at nothing.

“It’s complicated.”

Richard barked a laugh.

“No, it’s not. You undress, kiss and cuddle, then you...”

Darcy knew where this was going and decided to come clean. 

“She got pregnant at Netherfield.”

“Bloody hell, but it doesn’t look like...”

“No, she miscarried. Rather late as I have understood it.”

“It might not be a problem though. You two seem to get on well enough after the show you put on at the Sketch.”

“That was an act, Richard.”

“If that was an act, you should seriously contemplate a career in West End Darcy. Honestly, you two have chemistry. The air was so electrified between you two that you could have recharged your Tesla.”

“Stop it, Richard. I am not interested, she is not interested, just leave it.”

Richard sat in quiet contemplation for a few minutes.

“No can do, spill it.”

“Well, since you are such a pain in the arse. I will hand it to you on a silver platter...  
When I sought out Elizabeth in Hemsedal, the first thing she did was to try to hit me in the head with a frying pan and don’t you dare laugh Richard!  
When she finally recognised me with the beard, she asked me under no uncertain terms to leave. I chose not to, she fled out the door and I actually had a hard time catching up with her when she stumbled and fell.   
She generously shared her earplugs as I caught up with her and I had the lovely Maria Mena's song Fuck You, screaming in my ear.  
She struggles with my wealth, she is obviously uncomfortable in high-end establishments.   
I had to persuade her to accept lingerie to accompany her wedding dress which she, by the way, wanted to return because she thought it too expensive...  
When we got back to the hotel, she did not make a move on me. She even slept in a baggy t-shirt. I tell you, she is not interested!”

“You have certainly given this a lot of thought.”

“No, I have hardly thought about it at all. I am far too busy with our travels.”

Richard covered his mouth and muttered between fake coughs: “You are so far gone.”

Darcy launched for Richard whose excellent reflexes, catapulted him out of the chair but Darcy caught his elbow. Both lost their balance and they tumbled to the floor.

It was this scene that met Elizabeth when she entered the room. She folded her arms over her chest and gave the two wrestlers a stern look.

“Break it up, kids. We have a doctor’s appointment to make. He doesn’t need any more work than he already has with getting the big baby on the floor to sit still for his shots.”

Elizabeth breath hitched and she turned and walked out of the room. 

No, definitely not over it...  
Darcy and Richard looked at each other, communicating without words. They rose and brushed out their trousers, straightened their collars and followed Elizabeth sedately.

They drove to Darcy’s GP, had their shots and received their Health Certificate. After that unpleasantness was over and done with, they united on grabbing a cup of coffee. The Helterskelter was right around the corner from the Hospital of Saint John and Saint Elizabeth, selling coffee, Beatles memorabilia and newspapers...

They were approaching the door when Elizabeth’s phone rang, she answered and stopped dead in her tracks. Darcy and Richard could hear an angry woman’s voice but not what she said.

“I’m sorry...” A lot more angry words followed by the speaker.

“I can’t, I will call you later. I promise it is not what you think...”

The female voice on the other end mellowed but kept talking. Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed, her lips set in a thin line and a red spots flowered on her neck.

“She can not do that! I’m certain, that is against the law...” 

A few pointed words from the other end later.

“Alright, I’ll call you later. Thank you. Bye.”

The two men stood expectantly in front of Elizabeth, waiting for an explanation. Elizabeth pulled them away from the door and prying ears.

“That was Charlotte. She was not happy I had married without informing her, it had quite escaped my mind to do so.  
The good news is that Mr Gardiner have found a company in Finland that can deliver Nitroglycerin until the factory have been rebuilt.  
The bad news is that she has spoken to Lady C and she has made it abundantly clear that I am fired.   
They believe that the agitator in the Nitroglycerin machine might have needed some maintenance and caused the explosion. They will never know for certain since no part of the machine were ever found but Lady C is using the investigation to divest herself of unwanted employees. Mainly me...”

Darcy swore under his breath. 

“I had not thought of that. She had rather lofty hopes where my future felicity was concerned. She would not approve of you Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. ‘Was the dingleberry agreeing with his aunt or just pretending to know her mind? Where was that bucket of cold water when you needed it...

“I believe you will have to add a couple of months of severance to that prenup I have not seen yet...”

Richard looked like someone had hit him in the face. Darcy’s expression was unreadable. 

Richard found his voice first. 

“Let’s grab that coffee, we will address this business later.”

More silent communication was had between the two cousins who seemed to be able to communicate through the eyes alone.

Venturing into the Helterskelter, the newspapers immediately caught their attention.   
The tabloid press had a large picture of Elizabeth entering Darcy’s London home in her Pnina Tornai wedding gown. Taken slightly at an angle while clutching her bouquet of white lilies. She looked the perfect picture of a modest bride. In the follow-up story, there were pictures from the Sketch, Kleinfeld’s, Victoria’s Secret, the Peninsula Hotel and even their departure from Darcy’s house to the Baglioni were present. Elizabeth had not noticed any journalists present at that latter occasion. It was obvious they were good at hiding.

“Smile, kiss and look happy. We are attracting attention.”

Richard admonished and the newlyweds complied with a quick peck on the mouth. Darcy wrapped his arm around Elizabeth‘s waist and pulled her closer while Elizabeth's cheeks heated and flowered.

“Great interpretation of blushing bride Elizabeth,” Richard whispered in her ear.

A couple of teenage girls approached them tentatively and politely asked if they could be persuaded to take a selfie with them.  
Elizabeth thought it hilarious that anyone would want a selfie with her and happily conceded. She felt Darcy’s arm stiffen on her back and decided to have a little fun to lighten the mood.  
She stretched out on her toes while bending one leg at the knee, flared her hands like she was dancing the Charleston and kissed him on the cheek. The girls squealed with joy, thanked them profusely and were off. Probably to post the picture on Snap, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook asap.

Back at the hotel, Richard warned Elizabeth about revealing anything important to Charlotte over the phone. He could not guarantee that it wasn’t being tapped.  
Elizabeth decided to drive to Meryton and speak to Charlotte privately. It was not like she had anything else to do on this Sunday afternoon anyway. 

***

Charlotte had been understanding when Elizabeth had related all the facts about her wedding.   
In a weakened moment in the safe haven of her best friend, she had related everything. It had been a cleansing experience to unburden herself. Wise and warm-hearted Charlotte had said none of the platitudes that her mother used to comfort her sister with. Elizabeth’s aunt and Fanny's sister Pippa had lost several babies in the early stages of pregnancy and her mother’s idea of comfort was inadequate.   
Uttering inanities like, it was good it had happened so early before she had gotten to know the baby. It was probably something wrong with the child or it was God’s will.  
Elizabeth had not understood how such well-meant comments could hurt prior to her own experience. Perhaps it would be even worse to lose a child that had been born but that thought did not diminish the pain of losing an unborn.   
To Elizabeth he was real. Certain that the child she had lost was a boy, she had named him Nicholas, her Christmas gift.

Charlotte had said she was sorry and embraced Elizabeth fiercely. She had even teared up, obviously accepting Elizabeth’s pain, without her needing to express it in words. Elizabeth had shed some tears but felt calm when it was done. A heartfelt goodbye ensued and Elizabeth travelled a little lighter, back to the Baglioni hotel and her honeymoon. 

The suite was empty when she arrived. A note lei on the coffee table. Darcy was visiting his sister again and did not expect to return until the next morning, the day of their departure. She was to expect him bright and early as their plane left at noon and he had some papers for her to sign...

***

Elizabeth’s alarm went off at six but she had awoken half an hour earlier. Dragging her sleep-deprived body into the shower to wake up.  
At seven she ordered breakfast and ate in solitude, by eight o’clock her suitcase was packed, locked and ready to go.   
She checked the morning’s gossip columns and the picture from Helterskelter had made it into the front page. She startled when the door suddenly flew up and crashed into the wall.

“Sorry, I’m a bit late. I had to pick up some paperwork and it wasn’t finished yet so I had to wait. You are packed I see. Good.”

Darcy handed Elizabeth a massive stack of papers. His hand trembled slightly which did not pass Elizabeth unnoticed.  
The heading said Prenuptial Agreement.

Elizabeth scanned the papers to try to filter out the important parts. The document was massive, it was no way she would be able to read it in its entirety before they had to leave for the airport. 

Darcy sat down beside her and reached for the papers to show her.

“These pages contains the listing of items that will not be yours upon our divorce. This is unusual circumstances, I hope you are not offended by my need to secure the Darcy inheritance...”

“Of course not!”

That section was luckily the major part of the document, she felt no need to read it and put them aside after signing them.

Darcy handed her another bunch of papers.

“These are the secrecy clauses of what you will be allowed to speak of after our divorce and more importantly, what you are not allowed to mention...”

“I can read that when we return and finalise our divorce. It is not like I will be talking to anyone for the next month.”

Elizabeth signed and put the papers on top of the others, in two neat stacks. One was Darcy’s copies, the other was her own.

The last paper was a single sheet. 

“This you need to read', Darcy thrust the paper into her hands.

Elizabeth read it in its entirety. It stated that everything she brought into the marriage would be hers when she left. Elizabeth chuckled. 

“Not interested in an old Defender and a slender savings account?”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows looking questionably at Darcy with a smirk grazing her lips.   
He looked down at his hands and fiddled with his ring. Elizabeth hadn’t noticed it before. It looked like a man's wedding band, of course. He had just gotten married to herself none the less. She had momentarily forgotten while the thought of him being secretly engaged to someone else had struck her like lightning. She forced her focus back to the paper in her hands.

The next paragraph contained the assets she would gain from the marriage.  
A ten thousand pounds severance for the inconvenience brought by the loss of her job. Elizabeth gasped.

“That is too much Darcy, I do not earn nearly as much as that in two months. I mean, the pay isn’t bad but I have one day a week off. I take classes at the university. Half would be sufficient to cover my loss.”

Darcy looked dumbfounded at her.

“It cannot be changed before we depart, it is too late. Please accept it Elizabeth. It is much less than you deserve.”

‘Why she deserved anything at all from him were beyond Elizabeth’s comprehension. He had taken nothing from her. Her comment on severance was a joke not meant to be taken literally. The thought of accepting such a sum gave her a foul taste in her mouth but she realised that the matter must be dropped at the moment. She could always refuse to accept it when the time came.”

“Alright then but I suggest that you seek redress from your aunt if it should come to that. It is she who should pay my severance, not you.”

“I'll consider it...”

Elizabeth signed the last paper and Darcy put his copy under his arm and left.   
Elizabeth sat dabbling on her phone when he re-entered with Richard. Forty-five minutes later.

“I've got your visa Elizabeth. It was last minute but they finally got through.   
Have you been to Israel Elizabeth?”

“No!”

“Good. You would have been stopped at the border if you had.  
Let’s see. You have 30 days to find the malfeasant and squeeze out the information you need, rescue your sister and return home.   
It is sometimes possible to extend the visa with another 30 days but not in this instance. Ramadan starts the evening of the 26th of May. No visas will be extended during Ramadan despite your business visas.”

Richard paused to draw a breath before continuing. 

“Elizabeth, you are on a business visa because no tourist visas are being granted due to the unrest.  
Darcy is considering to invest in hotels with the intention of buying cheap and reap the benefits later. That gives you a plausible excuse for being there in the first place and also to travel to look for tourist attractions. Neither is it suspicious that he wants his newly wedded wife to accompany him. 

Darcy, you have already established some contacts in Sana'a. I leave it to you to inform Elizabeth.

Wickham and Mary travelled on journalist visas. How they pulled that off, I have no idea. Wickham must have gotten hold of some juicy shit to get the tabloid's support for this stunt. The tabloid are tight-lipped no luck there.

Stay safe!”


	9. The Journey

Chapter 9 The Journey 

The Darcy’s were at the airport. The butterflies in Elizabeth’s stomach were turning into dinosaurs of the carnivore sort. She regretted her earlier Google search on travelling advice to Yemen but then again, she did not. Better to be prepared than be caught unaware. She might have disregarded some of the dressing codes, had she not read about the consequences. 

She had done a simple white pair of trousers with a modest boat neck white jumper. In her handbag were a beige abaya and a white hijab, she would put them on before they exited the plane in Sana'a.  
The reason for choosing this route was simple. They were entering Houthi territory and the Houthi tribe had been able to overturn the government by Saudi Arabian support. 

Tense and apprehensive, she moved towards the gate.   
A journalist called after them.

“Are you on your way to your honeymoon Mr Darcy?”

Darcy only smiled and put his hand on Elizabeth’s lower back to steer her towards the gate.

“The missus looks a little apprehensive Darcy. Is she afraid of flying?”

Darcy moved his hand up to Elizabeth shoulder and drew her closer to whisper in her ear.

“Having second thoughts, Elizabeth? This is your last chance to back out. As soon as we pass the gate we are at the point of no return.”

Elizabeth turned towards him and felt his lips, gently brush her temple.

“I’m good, how are you?”

“I'm good.”

There were no first-class seats on the plane to Riyadh.   
Elizabeth was comfortable, Darcy was not. His long legs were not made for tight spaces, it would be six long hours before they landed.

In Riyadh, they had a little time to eat before they needed to board the plane to Sana’a. They ate and Darcy briefed Elizabeth about his most promising contacts.

Hamad’s parents had emigrated to the US when he was six. At twenty-three, he had visited, his mother had chosen a wife for him and he had never left.   
He had chosen to stay in the country he was born in and fell in love with as an adult. He was happily married with three children, living in Sana’a, working for Eternal, their local tourist agency.  
To acquire a contact in the travelling agency Eternal had been essential as they could not use public transportation nor go anywhere without the approval of the government and a local guide.

The other contact he and Bingley had gotten close to was Leah.   
Her parents had emigrated to the US before she was born but she had come back to teach the children of Sana’a English. Communicating with her had been much more difficult because of their different genders which the presence of Elizabeth would rectify.

They landed in Sana'a at ten o’clock in the evening. The sun had set, leaving a faint blue hue in the sky. Before they could enter the old city they had to have their passports, luggage and electrical equipment thoroughly examined at the military checkpoint, being held at gunpoint by a couple of old Kalashnikovs. After passing the tests at checkpoint, they drove towards the inner city and the architecture blew Elizabeth’s mind.

“It is so beautiful,” she whispered reverently to Darcy. He smiled at her and met her eyes.

“That it is...”

The Old Sana’a Palace Hotel was one of the old buildings in Sana’a. The front door was of massive dark wood but not particularly tall. Darcy had to practically double over, to pass under the door frame. Inside, it was surprisingly light and clean. A small white hall with a dark wooden desk at the end met the new arrivals.  
The concierge Mr Mogalli, recognised Mr Darcy and gave them both a warm welcome in heavily accented English. 

The stairs were dark although they were all painted white. They were guided by the bellboy Ibrahim, up the stone steps to their room. The floors were covered in carpets which made the room warmer as it was obviously stone underneath.  
Their suite contained two rooms with an open plan solution. They entered a room with a comfortable sofa to relax on, the room beyond was the bedroom.   
The white walls of the room were accentuated with vibrant pink covers and pillows on the king-size bed.  
The suite had an on-suite bathroom with a deep tub that Elizabeth pretended not to notice. Probably fate’s payback for her malicious chuckle at the pink in the bedroom.

The night was surprisingly cold and Elizabeth was exhausted. Shivering she stripped off her clothes and pulled a t-shirt over her head behind a screen, lay down on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.   
She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from clattering. Darcy must have felt her trembling when he lay down beside her. 

“You may sleep close to me if you are cold Elizabeth. I'll turn my back at you, use it to get some warmth.”

Elizabeth scooted towards his back and connected with a deliciously hot surface. 

“My God woman, have you bathed in ice? You feel like an ice sickle.”

Elizabeth snickered. ‘Didn’t she know it.’ Her legs couldn’t connect with his because he lay with his knees bent.  
She scooted downwards until their butts were aligned and wrapped her thighs under his derrière until they found the back of his warm legs. Satisfied that she had utilized all surfaces available. She snuck her arm around his waist and drove it under his upper arm. Laying her cheek gently on his back, she immediately went to sleep with a contented sigh. He was much warmer than Jane and he did not kick her away. One-nil, in Darcy’s favour. 

***

“I didn’t think the city could look more beautiful than it did last night, I was wrong.  
The buildings look like gingerbread houses with white icing trimmings. Makes me want to lick them to check if they taste as good as they look.  
What kind of material is this?”

“They are made by rammed earth and white gypsum, built in the 11th century. Still want to lick it?”

Darcy wriggled his eyebrows and Elizabeth had to laugh. 

“No, thank you.”

“Did you know Elizabeth, that this is the oldest continuously inhabited and populated city in the world. There have been people living here for the last 2500 years.   
Approximately 6000 of the houses here were built in the 11th century, makes it unfathomable that some might seek to destroy it. It is a significant part of the world’s heritage.”

“Yes but I have more sympathy towards the people living here though. Imagine living with the threat of death, hanging over you.”

“You work with explosives, the thought of an accident must have occurred to you. Wasn’t it back in 2002 that two people lost their lives at DNAG in Germany?”

“Yes but that is only a threat to me. Imagine having to worry about your husband or wife at work, your parents’ siblings and even your children being killed on their way to school...”

The last sentence hung heavy in the air, building a wall between them as they navigated the narrow streets of old Sana’a. Passing barber’s, working in the street. An old pipe builder sat working on a new pipe, surrounded by beautifully crafted finished products. Elizabeth sent them a longing look but they were too big to fit in her suitcase. 

They rounded a corner and the school that Leah worked at was before them. Elizabeth followed as Darcy hunched through another low door.   
They were in a corridor with classrooms on either side. Darcy listened at every door until he recognised Leah’s voice and knocked. Leah called out and Darcy opened the door with Elizabeth in front of him. He kept himself back in the shadow of the door where only Leah could see him. Leah nodded and they closed the door. Darcy guided Elizabeth out into a backyard of sorts or perhaps it was a small town square. The streets were so narrow, you couldn’t get a car through. Some of the other squares they had walked through had been equally quaint.

Ten minutes later, Leah emerged from the door and spoke with a fluent New York accent. 

“Mr Darcy, how nice to see you again. I wasn’t aware that you were coming back so soon.”

“I didn’t finish what I came for so I had to come back. How have you been Leah?”

“Very well, it has been peaceful while you were gone. No major incidents for a couple of months now. Let’s hope it lasts...”

Elizabeth stood a little to the side of the happy reunion. She didn’t trust easily and wanted to judge for herself, not even trusting Darcy’s opinion. So far, she had seen nothing amiss but it was early days yet.

“What have you done with Mr Bingley? Isn’t he with you?”

Leah looked around but Bingley was nowhere to be found. 

“Bingley had urgent business at home so he could not accompany me this time. I have brought my wife Elizabeth instead as my second in command.”

Leah looked at Elizabeth, tilted her head and studied her closely.   
Elizabeth understood that trust did not come easy to Leah either, by that she could not fault her.  
She returned her look steadily and Leah smiled and offered Elizabeth her hand. They shook and released.

“You could go as a native with those dark brown eyes, dark hair and dark complexion.”

“Thank you, I had a spray tan before we left.”

“May I offer you some unsolicited advice?”

“Feel free, I am not easily offended.”

Leah chuckled.

“Oh it’s nothing personal but I could comment on your hair because it has escaped the hijab. May I teach you how to wrap it so that your lovely curls can’t escape?”

Elizabeth sighed in gratefulness.

“Yes, please. My unruly mane are giving me a hard time and the hijab keeps slipping.”

Leah led Elizabeth behind the open door, out of sight of any prying eyes in the surrounding buildings.  
Leah removed and replaced the hijab with a thorough explanation of how to make it tight and durable.  
Elizabeth thanked her and they joined Darcy. 

“Do you have any sisters Elizabeth?”

“Yes, I have four.” Elizabeth almost related their mission of retrieving her sister but held back at the last second. Leah seemed nice but she did not know her. She needed a little more time to get to know her.

“That’s so nice, I have two sisters but they live in New York with my mother and father.   
I am sorry but I have to go, my students are waiting for me but let’s meet at the usual place this evening, Darcy?”

“Yes, thank you, Leah.”

The Darcy’s sauntered to a market place with edibles.   
Stalls with grains, dried beans and fruit were the majority of the market but in between, there were exotic looking street food that Elizabeth was dying to taste. 

“Should we try some of those fried, doughnut looking things or the balls?” 

Elizabeth automatically whispered although it was nothing in her surroundings that called for discretion.

“It could draw unwanted attention to us because of the language besides, how would we communicate?”

“I am very good at hand gestures and using my body language to express myself. I make a mean opponent in mime games...”

“I‘m sure you do but let’s put that to the test at the hotel, not in the streets of Sana's...”

Elizabeth didn’t dare to argue any further. Standing in the middle of a busy market with people in close proximity, might not be the wisest place to pick an argument. It suddenly dawned on her that she was the only female present.  
They better head home and plan their meeting with Leah. Not to forget to eat, Elizabeth was ravenous.   
The restaurant at the hotel served local delicacies of the highest quality whilst also being beautifully presented. Elizabeth couldn’t complain.

“Where do you usually meet up with Leah?”

“Dar al-Hajar, also known as Rock Palace. It is a museum today. Built by the Imam for his four wives and family.   
It has doors that are built to catch intruders, caves and secret rooms. I usually meet Leah there. It even has English signs, so we will not get lost.”

Elizabeth sighed in contentment. Sightseeing to beautiful palaces seemed like no hardship at all.

“It is massive, we will not be able to see it all this afternoon. Just a small part of it.”

***

Hamad picked them up at the hotel in his car. He had an extra guard with him and they were both armed.  
The Darcy’s were ushered into the backseat. The guides sat in the front seats.  
The journey was 13-14 kilometres from the hotel to the palace. Darcy chatted with Hamad, trying to gauge if there had been any English men in the area.

Surrounding the palace was a big plantation, farmers were busy picking something in big baskets they carried on their backs. Elizabeth thought it looked like tea but as she had never seen a tea plantation, she could not be sure...

“What are they picking?”

“Qat,” Darcy answered. 

“What is that exactly?”

“It is a plant that will give you a mild high if you chew on the leaves.”

“Really! Have you tried it?”

“Certainly not!”

They arrived at the palace and Elizabeth went utterly speechless.  
She almost wandered off in sheer awe but Darcy hauled her back at his side. He seemed to have an eye on her at any given moment. 

The Palace that had once held the Yemini royalty, were built in, on and around the top of a cliff.   
Constructed in the traditional rammed earth and white gypsum, it looked like a castle out of any girls fairy-tale. Reaching towards the skies while deeply rooted in the rock beneath. 

“I hope your legs are fit because we will be walking a lot of steps today.”

Elizabeth snorted. ‘What ridiculous nonsense, of course, she was fit. Hadn’t he followed her in a brisk pace from Oakham mount to Longbourn?  
Two-thousand-four-hundred-fifty-eight steps later, not that she counted but it must surely be something very close to that, her calves were screaming at the abuse.

“I thought you said we wouldn’t see it all today?”

“We are not, I just thought you would like to see the view from the roof. I could give you a piggyback ride the rest of the stairs...”

Elizabeth didn’t deign that suggestion with an answer but continued the torture of her legs, up the final steps.

Elizabeth grudgingly admitted that it had been worth it. The view was magnificent, the stairs had been beautifully carved and some rooms had been dug out of the cliff while others were built around it, it was spectacular. 

The place they were meeting up with Leah, was a cave built to conceal young boys that served as guards. There were several but Darcy had found one that was unremarkable in every way and better yet, in a less popular part of the palace.  
The Darcy’s sauntered around the area, trying not to raise suspicion while looking at practically nothing.  
Elizabeth pretended to tie her shoelaces and to need some rest as not to raise speculation about why they lingered.   
Half an hour of tarrying, they decided to walk a little further and come back later in hope that Leah had turned up by then.   
Beyond the corridor lei the boudoirs. Each room in the entire palace seemed to have its own terrace with magnificent views over the landscape. Elizabeth sauntered out and found that this particular terrace overlooked a massive pool.  
Darcy followed her outside, positioning himself close behind her. 

“I think we should go by the cave one more time before we call it a day.”

“Has it happened before that Leah hasn’t turned up?”

“Yes, do not worry. It is difficult for her to leave the school. A number of events could have prevented her from coming this evening. Let us have one last look and head back to the hotel.”

Leah was nowhere to be seen and the Darcy’s went back to the hotel under the staunch protection of Hamad.

Elizabeth, full of wonder by the afternoon’s splendour, gushed to the concierge at the hotel.  
Gesticulated wildly to convince the unaffected man behind the desk. Darcy smiled at her enthusiasm when seven men in military garb, entered and approached them.

“Mr and Mrs Darcy? Come with us.”

Their tone of voice brooked no opposition.   
They were lead into a large drawing room with green sofas on three sides but no tables. The Darcy’s remained standing as their visitors showed no inclination of sitting down. Darcy moved protectively in front of Elizabeth while an uncomfortable silence darkened the room.

“I understand Mr Darcy, that you and your wife have toured the streets of Sana'a unescorted.”

The oldest of the seven soldiers spoke in a heavily accented English. Elizabeth saw Darcy nod affirmatively to the question at hand.

“Why? You know the rules, Mr Darcy. No walking about without an escort at all times.”

“My wife was impressed by the beautiful architecture and wanted to look at it more closely. It was never our intention to wander far from the hotel. I am sorry that our admiration for the old city got us a little wayward and we stumbled upon the souq. We apologise and I promise it will not happen again.”

“From now on, these soldiers will stay at the hotel and they will accompany you and your wife as soon as any of you set foot outside this hotel. Neither speak any English but you will follow them if they point you in any direction.”

“May I assume that they will not point me and my wife in different directions?”

“Been married long, Mr Darcy?”

“No, about a week.”

“Then no, they will not.”

The man spoke to his fellow soldiers in Arabic and they laughed, making Mr and Mrs Darcy feel a tad uncomfortable. 

“I have an excursion planned tomorrow with the Eternal travelling agency, to look at some of the agricultural aspects of Yemen.   
The coffee plantations, in particular, to assess the prospects of future tourism developments.   
Attract tourists to Yemen to go coffee tasting as a non-alcoholic alternative to wine tasting. Do you have any objections?”

“No, not as long as you are with the agency.”

“Thank you.”

The soldiers marched out of the room and allowed the Darcy’s to retreat to the safety of their hotel room.

Back at their room, Elizabeth immediately started pacing while Darcy sat back in the sofa, contemplating their next move.  
To Elizabeth’s surprise, he flipped off his shoes and lay down. Shielding his eyes with the back of his hand, it looked like he was going to drop off.

“You are taking a nap?” Elizabeth could not conceal the underlying reproach.

“No. I am trying to think. Usually, it is only American citizens that get a military escort, I wonder why the service was suddenly offered to us.  
I need some peace and quiet if you do not mind?”

Elizabeth felt the chastisement keenly and forced herself to stop pacing by sitting down on the bed. She had a lot of questions but Darcy’s current stance did not encourage any questions.

Trying to be quiet when agitated proved difficult with nothing to do. Elizabeth didn’t have her phone or iPad with her due to the difficulty it would be to get it through the military checkpoint. If they traced her back to Lebon explosive, it could be dangerous. Darcy had a phone and laptop that had never been used for other purposes than this business, making them safe to bring. Elizabeth worried her lips with her fingers. Remaining in one position for long was not within her accomplishments. Tiptoeing to the window, as not to disturb the reclining thinker, Elizabeth studied her surroundings.   
When examined more closely, the telltale signs of war cold easily be perceived on the buildings. A brick missing, a pile of rocks on the street, one building seemed to have been wired together with steel rods to prevent it from collapsing. It was heart-rendering to watch as the sun set with its magnificent orange and pink rays enveloping the city.

“Perhaps two minds think better than one?”

Darcy’s deep baritone voice brought Elizabeth back from her reverie. Darcy had removed his tie and were currently struggling to get out of his tight fitted suit jacket. After winning the tug-of-war, he loosened the top buttons of his shirt and relaxed back into the very low sofa.   
There were no table in their suite as the Yemini did not seem to use tables except for in the restaurant. There was a copper tray on the floor with decorative items and it served as a table would have. 

“Come sit.” 

A chagrined Elizabeth reluctantly sat down beside him. The only seat available, besides the bed in the next room.  
Just a glimpse of chest hair had sent her wayward imagination back to the Netherfield gala or rather, its aftermath.   
She immediately felt warmth flooding her cheeks and didn’t turn towards Darcy. Instead, she leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees while resting her head in her hands. Covering her cheeks with her hands, seemed like a good idea.

“I am having second thoughts about our excursion tomorrow. In fact, I am questioning the sanity in this whole scheme. Bringing you here with me to Yemen. It is not safe...”

“That can hardly be news to you Darcy. We knew that entering into this business. Why the cold feet now? Is it because of the welcoming committee on our return from Dar al-Hajar?”

“Partially but tomorrow we are supposed to enter a rural district, dangerously close to an area that is under the control of the al-Qaeda. It is where I lost track of Wickham and there have been rumours of a girl joining him. It is a small cell but the risks are great regardless.”

“I knew the risks when I said yes. There is no way I am staying at this hotel while you gallivant across coffee plantations, rocks and mountains. I am not staying here alone with those soldiers, they are freaking me out.”

“I was thinking about terminating the entire operation.”

“Leave without Mary?”

“Yes...”

Elizabeth ignited on all spark plugs simultaneously. Shot out of her seat, turned and drove her forefinger into his face. 

“I have not travelled half the globe, faked a wedding and had the honour of experiencing the least romantic wedding night ever, to give up before we have even started. I am not giving up, you go home while I get Hamad to drive me to wherever it is we are going tomorrow.”

“Fake wedding night, Elizabeth...”

“Yes, fake and lonely. Your mother should have named you Houdini as you seem so adept at disappearing into thin air whenever it is convenient.”

“I did not believe you wanted my company.”

Elizabeth froze, ‘had she wanted his company?’ She walked to the window and gazed unseeing at the darkened city. Worrying her lips with her fingers. ‘What inconvenient moment to realise ones feelings were engaged...’

“I am sorry. The stress must be getting on my nerves. I am Fanny's daughter after all.” Elizabeth chuckled mirthlessly.

“Pay me no mind...”


	10. The Search

Chapter 10 The Search

Elizabeth readied herself for bed while Darcy sat dumbfounded on the sofa. 

“I will get some sleep, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Goodnight!” Elizabeth kept her tone light as she lay down on the edge of the bed. 

***

The room was as dark as the night outside.   
Elizabeth had turned off the only light that had been lit when she went to bed. Barely making an impact on the massive bed with her lithe figure balancing on the edge.   
Obviously, there was no chance for a repeat act of the previous night’s cosy position. Although they had repositioned themselves during the night, Darcy had awoken with a numb arm where Elizabeth’s head lay while he wondered if Elizabeth were having trouble breathing under his other arm that rested on her ribcage.   
Carefully extracting himself from her had been tricky but doable, Elizabeth had not stirred.

‘He suddenly wished that she had snored. To be certain that she was asleep before he crawled in after her.   
What a coward he was...’ 

Darcy sighed and went to the bathroom. Brushed his teeth and went back to the bed.  
Elizabeth breathed evenly but there was no way of telling if she were actually asleep.   
Darcy tucked himself in, half a bed away from the softness on the other side.   
‘What the heck... This was ridiculous...’  
Darcy turned on his side and put his arm around Elizabeth’s waist and pulled her closer.   
She didn’t slap him or raise any other form of protest.  
He deemed it safe to tuck her into the crook of his arm and envelop her with his entire being. 

Of course, waking up thus, created something of a conundrum but at least he had gotten a restful night of invigorating sleep before he eventually was slapped.  
He waited patiently for the harsh connection with his cheek but it did not come. Waking up from a very vivid dream, he had found himself nestling her neck with kisses and nibbles while his hands were improperly occupied. 

While Darcy was wavering indecisively back and forth, Elizabeth murmured something unintelligible and stretched. Her toned derriere rubbed over his dawn horn. 

‘Bloody hell,’ Darcy left the bed before he took his morning constitutional inside of Elizabeth. He could not do that, not to Elizabeth.   
He pondered why while brushing his teeth vigorously.   
Had it been any other girl laying next to him, he would have finished by now.   
With a few exceptions of course... There were a few that would have turned his wood into ashes and dust within the blink of an eye. The blood-curdling Caroline came to mind, cooling his ardour quicker than an ice bath.   
His mind on Caroline gave him a sudden epiphany. He must call her as soon as it was polite to do so. A two hour time difference would make it a quarter past seven, a little early yet...

Elizabeth’s toe-curling dream ended by a rude awakening in a lonely bed. It still held some residual heat though, Darcy must have just gotten out of bed.  
How come he always awoke before her. Usually an early riser, it was unnerving that he had beat her to it, three out of three.   
The tap was turned on in the bathroom, alerting her to his location. 

***

Hamad were picking them up at eleven. By then they were dressed and fed but Darcy had a last-minute call to make. He stepped out on the balcony connected to their bedroom and dialled his secretary, the very efficient Mrs Reynolds.

“Pemberley investment, Aisling Reynolds speaking. How may help you?”

“How are you Aisling?”

“Mr Darcy, how good of you to call. I am well but there are a couple of issues I would like your input on but first, how are you?”

“Good, nothing of importance to relate yet but I need to speak to Caroline about a matter unrelated to PR but important nonetheless.”

“Well, that will be easy to accomplish. The girl has practically been camping in the office. She is here now.”

“In my office?”

“No, of course not. I would never allow that but she has been her night and day. Waiting for news that might need some public attention.   
I have tried to tell her you are on your honeymoon but she has been relentless...”

“Kick her out if you have to, in fact, kick her out regardless. Give her a week off or something but I do not want her snooping around. I may tell her myself if you could put her on?”

“Yes, give me a second to transfer the call to her office...”

“Of course, but I need to speak to you after I have spoken to Caroline.”

“Sure, here is Caroline for you.”

“Mr Darcy, is that you?”

“Yes, Miss Bingley. I am feeling generous in my newly acquired felicity and would like to grant you a week's vacation.”

“Thank you but I do not need a...”

“With pay as a special reward for the effort you put into making Pemberley investment look good in the public hemisphere.”

“Thank you, Mr Darcy, I do my very best. It is a shame you had to marry the little country maiden. I am sure I could have wiggled you a way out of it if you had let me.”

“Which is why I am calling you...”

“Oh, anything for you Mr Darcy.”

“It is highly appreciated, Miss Bingley. I need to know what happened to the note I left on the nightstand in my room at Netherfield. It contained my unofficial phone number and if it has come into the hands of the wrong people...”

“Certainly not Mr Darcy, I always look out for your best interest. I have the note, of course, nothing to worry about.”

“You are fired, Miss Bingley. You may pack your stuff and move out of your office by the end of the day. I will give you three months severance if you can meet those conditions.”

“But... I did what was necessary to prevent you from being taken advantage of by...”

“By withholding an important message from my wife?” 

Darcy’s temper flared and he decided he needed to end the conversation before he lost his composure completely. 

“I will check with Aisling that you follow my orders. Goodbye.”

Darcy hung up and redialled Mrs Reynolds number.

“Mr Darcy, I am glad you did not forget to call me back.”

“Yes. I have fired Caroline, please make sure she has packed everything up and left by the end of the day. If she has, you may pay her three months salary as severance.”

“Sure, Mr Darcy. Consider it done. She was the first of my issues. The second is how to deal with the tabloids.   
They have somehow figured out that you went back to your sister at home on your wedding night and that Elizabeth was alone at the Baglioni. A picture where it looks like Elizabeth has been crying as she entered the hotel alone on the following day have surfaced and the speculations are running wild. Everything from Georgiana taking ill to a wedding night break up are bandied about. I do not know how you would like to handle it.”

“I will produce a happy picture of us if you could make sure it is distributed to the right sources. Do you have a connection with any journalists or bloggers that could spread the gossip for us? ”

“As a matter of fact, I do. I have a gawker stalker living in my building.”

“Thank you Aisling, you deliver as always.”

“No need to thank me, Mr Darcy, I am going to trade my little juicy titbit for a ‘no loud music after midnight’ agreement. I should thank you.”

Darcy laughed heartily, said goodbye and hung up.  
He still had to convince Elizabeth that they needed to fake another romantic interlude though and went into the lounge. Elizabeth looked up at him as he entered.

“Any trouble at the office?”

“No, I mean yes. Sort of trouble but not at the office specifically.”

“Is something a matter with Georgiana?”

“No, she is somewhat involved with issue number two but that is not what I wanted to address first.”

Darcy drove his hand through his hair, dreading the difficult subject at hand.   
Elizabeth waited patiently while Darcy started to pace up and down the short space in front of the sofa she was currently sitting on.

“I just found out that Caroline took the note that I wrote to you back at Netherfield.”

“Yes, I figured as much.”

“I thought you didn’t believe me?”

“I couldn’t be certain but if you had written a note, Caroline was the only one who had the opportunity and a reason to take it.”

“What could be her motive?”

Elizabeth looked Darcy intensely in the eyes. He could not possibly be that obtuse.

“I guess I got to close to her home turf and she needed to eliminate me to clear the path to her hearts desire.”

Darcy scoffed and turned towards Elizabeth, anger written on his face.

“I never had any kind of relationship with my best friends sister. I never lead her on nor encouraged her in any way.”

“You didn’t discourage her either. With a girl like Caroline, only the most direct approach will do because she doesn’t get subtle hints.”

Darcy stared incredulously at Elizabeth.

“Am I supposed to discourage every woman that I encounter.”

“No, I suppose you could limit yourself to the ones that pursue you relentlessly.”

“I fired her.”

Elizabeth did not know what to say to that so she said nothing. 

“It seems that you were correct in another instance as well.”

“Just one,” she teased. Feeling a little lighter.

“Probably not but one more that needs to be handled immediately.”

“Sounds ominous...”

“Somehow the tabloids have been informed that I stayed at my London home during our wedding night while you were photographed outside the Baglioni, looking like you had been crying...   
I wonder if that may have had something to do with the Yemini government, suddenly providing us with the military escort.”

“I see, what do you suggest we do about it?”

“Either we do nothing and let the tabloids have their fun at our expense until something bigger and better comes along or we give them a reason to believe that we are the happy couple we have worked so hard to present ourselves as.”

“If we do nothing, what is the worst that could happen?”

“Nothing drastic I hope but they will continue to pester our relatives at home for information.”

“OMG, that will not do. You have met my mother. We will be on the front covers of the tabloids for years to come. What is our alternative option?”

“We take a picture that show off our marital felicity but doesn’t reveal our location. Send it to my personal secretary which I, by the way, would entrust with my life. She will make sure that the picture or pictures are spread.”

“Sure, we could take a picture out on the balcony. Perhaps Ibrahim could take a picture from the street so it looks like a paparazzi have taken the photo?”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“The hotel could be recognised and blow our cover but more importantly. Any kind of public show of affection could get us arrested on the spot.”

“I didn’t think of that. Did you bring a selfie stick?”

Darcy looked at Elizabeth like she had grown horns.

“No!” 

“I didn’t think so. We could have found an obscure location on our outing today where I could have taken off my burka for the picture. The sofa is out because of the identifiable stained glass windows.  
The bed it is then. White walls and pink cushions should be internationally enough, don’t you think?”

“Yes, but how can we pose on a bed without it getting tacky?”

“Oh my lord, I didn’t mean for us to get naked and naughty. A guy’s imagination moves incredibly fast from the mentioning of a certain piece of furniture to bonking their brains out.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and Darcy had the decency to look a tad shamefaced. 

“An almost kiss should do it... I guess you have a self-timer on the camera on your phone?”

“Yes, but I have never used it.”

“Of course not, no guy with self-respect would ever admit to that. Give me your phone and I will set it up.”

Elizabeth arranged the phone on the nightstand while ordering Darcy into bed to adjust the angle of the phone. 

“You will have to stay on your back. Laying on our sides will not work because it will not be possible to identify one or the other. Perfect, don’t move a muscle.”

Elizabeth scrambled into bed and climbed atop of Darcy to hover over his mouth but she hadn’t thought about arranging her unruly curls. Elizabeth frantically tried to brush it away when the click came.

“Oh bother, we will have to do it again. Let me just get a scrunchie to tie back my hair.”

Elizabeth sat up and pulled her hair up in a frizzy ponytail and hunched over to reset the self-timer.

She kind of liked, letting Darcy taste his own medicine from the Sketch and took her time. When the click came, she wasn’t ready at all.

“Don’t worry, I have set it on repeat. It will take another one in a minute.”

‘The slip of a girl was a master seductress. Letting her warm breath waft across his cheeks while wiggling into place.   
It must have been a deliberate act to let her breasts graze his chest while she situated herself perfectly for detecting any sign of weakness from his treacherous body.   
Why did the darned thing never click when one needed it to, desperately.   
Bloody hell, he was just a man after all, not some mechanical robot on autopilot.  
His hands lifted off the sheets without any input from his brain. Perhaps there were some automation involved...   
His thumbs followed her jawbone while his other fingers joined each other at the back of her neck, pulling her down for a searing kiss.  
There was a click but Darcy paid it no mind as his hands travelled down her spine at their own violation. Ending their journey on her pert posterior, giving it a light squeeze before travelling up her sides to her softness. Elizabeth’s gasp broke the kiss for an instant to draw a couple of deep breaths before she dove back in to suckle his lower lip, click. Darcy groaned and his pelvis volunteered to rise up towards the heat above and the heat retaliated with rocking and gyrating over the intruder. Click.  
Enough was enough though.   
Darcy flipped Elizabeth to her back and tugged her dress down her torso to free a breast, his mouth bore down on the perky nipple and suckled it hard. Click.  
Elizabeth’s back arched to give him greater access while her hands tried to reach the buttons on his jeans.   
Her arms were not long enough which proved to be a good thing. The blood rushing through his ears drowned out the three short raps on the door but his brain registered the sound of the handle turning.

Ibrahim did not step into the room but stayed on the threshold and called out that Hamad from Eternal tour agency were waiting in the lobby.

“Thank you! Will you tell him that we will be down in a minute.”

‘Great, quick thinking. He will have to leave and I will have a minute to collect myself.’

Elizabeth was still trapped under his heavyweight, panting and chuckling. Her breasts pressing into his chest.  
He groaned and rested his head on her forehead. Willing his racing heart to slow down. 

“Move, I need to get ready if you are planning on leaving in a minute.”

“I guess it will be two minutes then.”

Her deep-throated laugh reverberated through his chest while warmth enveloped his heart.

Reluctantly he raised himself on his arms to take a daring look at his accomplice.  
Elizabeth’s deep brown eyes had turned black and bottomless under her hooded eyes. Her mouth was slightly opened and a pink tongue darted out to wet her lips.

It took an immense effort to let his trapped siren go and tug his clothes back in place. Elizabeth had managed to do a whole lot of damage in the relatively short time they had been frolicking on the bed. It was of no use though, the jeans had to go.  
Discarding his jeans for loose fitted trousers, he was ready to go and so was Elizabeth. If it was really her, under the grey abaya and burka. He would have liked to see her face, especially those expressive eyes. To assert her feelings about their recent passionate exchange. 

Darcy flipped through the new pictures on his phone to pick one to send to Aisling. The challenge was to find one that was not R-rated and there were none. Even the first picture where Elizabeth hovered over him had so much of unspoken promise that it would feel like baring his soul to send it to the press.

“Did we get a decent one?”

Elizabeth was at his side and he let her look at the screen while he flipped through from the first to the last picture. 

“I guess not...”

“I cannot send Aisling any of these. They are too personal... It seems like you are warming up to me though.”

“Warming up to you? If I got any warmer I would catch on fire, quite literally. That is not the issue. You need to open up to me, let me into your inner secret world because I have no idea of what you are thinking or feeling.”

With those parting words, Elizabeth sauntered out of the room and down to the hotel lobby. He had no choice but to follow her lead.

***

The picturesque scenery of Sana'a were left behind for the rural view of lush hills and dales. Terraces with crops were etched into the hills, as they had been for hundreds of years. Ever so often, a house would rise up from one of the rocks, as naturally as nature had put it there herself.

Travelling in an old Toyota four runner with a military jeep with the accompanying soldiers following behind. They reached their first checkpoint. 

“There is no need for the burka Mrs Darcy. It is not so common in these parts of Yemen. I would advise you to take it off so the officers can see you when we reach the checkpoint.” Hamad advised Elizabeth and she complied. Her hair was covered in a hijab underneath as the material of the burka made her hair frizzy. While trying on the burka she had constantly gotten hair in her face.

The officer at the checkpoint looked at their papers, asked Hamad a few questions and waved them through.

Elizabeth released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. After seven more checkpoints, she had gotten the hang of it and no longer worried when the ninth showed up in front of the car. 

They were there, at the village where Wickham had last been spotted.  
Elizabeth’s heart thundered in her ears and she had to concentrate on her breathing until she calmed down. Mary might be in any of these houses, suffering God knows what or she could be just fine. Elizabeth stepped out of the car and were immediately surrounded by the soldiers. Darcy ploughed his way through to her and guided her towards Hamad.

Hamad walked them through the streets and Elizabeth was glad she had donned her plain abaya and hijab instead of her adorned ones that would have stood out in her present company. The poverty was unmistakable. Blatantly obvious in the adults and animals roaming the street but it was the children that wrenched Elizabeth’s heart. Many were thin, pale and listless.

“We have had a cholera epidemic since 2016 in this area. I am afraid the recovery have been difficult due to the lack of food and clean water. It has now reached a critical level. ICRC is in but Yemen’s infrastructure has its challenges.”

“Like the lack of roads?”

“Yes and public transportation.”

“I have noticed, not that the journey was by any means uncomfortable but we seemed to be driving on dirt and rocks with no particular path to follow. It must be difficult to navigate through these conditions.”

“Not when you’re familiar with the area but it could be very dangerous for those who are unknown to the area. It is why I have a job so I can’t complain.”

“No, I guess not.”

The streets were full of grown men and children were playing but the women seem to be in hiding.

A delegation of senior residents approached Darcy with a plastic bag of leaves they handed him with reverence and beckoned him to follow them.   
Darcy started to protest but Hamad urged him to accept or it would be taken as a great insult.  
Besides, the qat would loosen their tongues.   
Darcy continued his protest as he could not leave Elizabeth but his protests were futile because Elizabeth was introduced to an ICRC worker from Norway. Knowing a few common Norwegian phrases would not get her far but luckily, the lady from the Red Cross answered in fluent English.   
She offered Elizabeth to accompany her on her visit with the ladies of the village, an offer Elizabeth could not refuse.

Darcy hovered over her, indecisive of how to proceed.

“I'll be fine. You go on, I am under the safe protection of the Red Cross, with a small army at hand.”

“You do not even have a phone to call me if you need me.”

“And you have a phone without signals to call for help.”

Darcy picked up his phone from his pocket and discovered that Elizabeth was right.

“How did you know?”

“They doesn’t seem to have any power here so I thought that it was unlikely.”

“Take care Elizabeth and you do not have to chew the qat. It is more of a matter of choice for females although some of the locals enjoy it. It does make you talkative so it could be dangerous...”

“Oh, you could use a couple of those bags to take home with you this evening. Some loosening of your tongue might not go amiss.”

The corner of Darcy’s mouth lifted slightly which was what Elizabeth was aiming to do. Lighten his mood a little. Sombreness didn’t heal the world, neither did light-heartedness but it made the gloom bearable. 

With a parting squeeze of her hand, Darcy left to join the now scowling residents of the village. A few pointed comments from Hamad with a nod in her direction, seemed to lighten the mood though. Elizabeth surmised he had made up some sort of excuse with their newly wedded state which Elizabeth didn’t mind. She followed Darcy with her eyes as he ducked into a building across the street. Casting her one last look as he entered. Elizabeth’s smile reached her ears.

“Newlyweds?” Aurora asked while they started towards another house.

“Yes, about a week ago.”

“Honeymooning in Yemen, not a common choice.”

“No, I guess not but it has been wonderful. Entering Sana’a was like stepping into a fairy-tale from a Thousand and One Night.”

“What are you doing out here then?”

“My husband is contemplating to invest in a hotel or two and we are looking for places to arrange excursions. We visited Dar al-Hajar yesterday and today we are looking into the possibility of creating a coffee tasting tour. Kind of like a non-alcoholic wine tasting experience.   
Many consider the coffee from Yemen the best coffee in the world so it makes sense as a long term business investment. Emphasising the term long. We know this cannot be realised while there is a civil war but it is perfect timing for the initial purchase.”

Elizabeth could have elaborated more but they had reached a large room with sofas on three walls that Aurora referred to as the diwan. It was quite similar to one of the rooms at their hotel. 

She assessed it to be at least twenty females of all ages gathered in the room.  
An older lady came up to her and offered her some of the same leaves Darcy had been offered. Elizabeth politely declined with hand gestures and made a bump on her stomach as an non-existing but plausible cause.

“You are pregnant?”

“No, that is. I do not know yet and I do not want to take any chances. Can you please explain that I do not want to offend but I do not want to take any chances either.”

“Of course not. The ladies here will not be offended by that Elizabeth, it is a perfectly good reason to withstand.”

The deceit left a foul taste in Elizabeth’s mouth but it was what she could come up with at a moments notice.   
Never having been remotely tempted to try a drug in any shape or form, it was a principle she was not willing to bend. She wondered how Darcy was faring though, she understood that for a man it would not be so easy to decline. 

The ladies soon caught her attention and the stories she was told through the translation of Aurora were heart-breaking.   
They had lost their power in the beginning of the civil war in 2015 and it had never been restored.   
A year later, a cholera outbreak had taken the lives of 7 of their children and most of the village's inhabitants had been ill. They still had the occasional new case of the disease as clean water, medicine and food were scarce.

The natives subtly changed the subject by urging Elizabeth to take off her hijab and abaya. Curious if she were fair-haired like Aurora. None of the villagers were wearing hijab and the abaya indoors in the females only quarters.   
Elizabeth noticed that her little army had not followed her inside and enquired why. She was informed that no man was allowed inside these walls so it would be perfectly safe to remove her outer clothing.   
The ladies seemed a tad disappointed when Elizabeth’s dark tresses were revealed but utterly enchanted when she took off her abaya and twirled in her grandmother’s vintage dress. She had a wedding picture, conveniently in her wallet, to show off to the ladies. They gasped at her ivory ball gown and gushed over it in a manner that reminded her of her mother and younger sisters. 

A baby girl was brought in to the room by a young mother. Proudly showing off her emaciated offspring.   
Elizabeth fought hard to keep her tears at bay when she offered the tiny babe for Elizabeth to hold.  
Elizabeth cradled the girl in her arms and gazed into the dark brown eyes.

“She is so beautiful, thank you for letting me hold her.”

The mother smiled shyly at Aurora’s translation. 

“What is her name?”

“Adra, it means virgin,” Aurora explained. 

“Is she always this calm?”

“Yes, she is a very good baby,” answered the mother.  
Elizabeth wanted to ask more questions but Aurora made eye contact and shook her head almost imperceptibly. Elizabeth relented and just smiled at the mother.

“Do you get many visitors in this area?”

“No, not any more. Not that there were many before but now they rarely get any visitors at all and no tourists. Foreigners are so rare that this meeting will be talked about for months, if not years. There used to be a hotel here but it closed a couple of years ago. They didn’t expect anyone to take any interest in this village after the hotel closed, imagine their surprise when they have had two visiting Brits in a month.”

“Really, were they interested in investing in the area as well?”

“No, he was selling not buying. A futile effort in an impoverished community, plagued with famine and disease.”

“Yes, I guess he went home unsatisfied...”

“No, he went east. Despite our warnings. It is not a safe area, not even for the Red Cross.”

“Wow, sounds like he was pretty desperate to me.”

“Yes or stupid. We haven’t heard anything but the natural route would be to come back through this area.”

“Oh... Did he travel alone?”

“Yes, with his tour guide of course.  
We are about to prepare dinner Elizabeth. Would you like to help out?”

“Yes, I would love to. I love to cook.”

The ladies went to their own homes and Elizabeth handed the sleeping babe to her mother and followed Aurora to the DHP camp with her little army in tow. Joining the aid workers, many of them Yemini, to make food for the refugees. 

***

Meanwhile, in the men’s quarters, Darcy was having a hard time pretending to chew the qat.  
They didn’t spit it out like he had thought but hoarded the chewed bits in their cheeks. Adding to it constantly. They obviously expected him to chew up the whole bag. Darcy chewed as lightly as possible to not extract any juice before tucking it away. Luckily, it had no effect on him.

He was chatting amicably with the Yeminis about his vision of a historical travelling agency.   
Yemen, with its historical and architectural heritage, would be an ideal location for those who wanted more from their vacation than sitting poolside with a drink in their hand.

The men got significantly chattier as the hours flew by. Hamad had a hard time choosing what story to relate to Mr Darcy and which to leave out.   
Four hours went by before any information of value was being passed on.  
An English man had travelled east, into the desert, to the vicinity of a small local al-Qaeda cell and actually made it back in one piece. The man had passed through again, two days ago, heading in the same direction. Darcy enquired if he had been alone and the Yemini told him that the tour guide had left him in the mountains at a safe but manageable walking distance.

‘Where was Mary if she wasn’t with Wickham.

Darcy decided he had had enough qat and he needed to locate Elizabeth. Not just to ensure her safety.   
He admitted to himself that she had grown on him to the extent that he felt bereft when she was not at his side. The pull she had on him was unparalleled to anything he had ever experienced. Disturbing in some ways but the tug was stronger than his reason.

The entire party left the cushioned floor of the mufrage. Hamad explained that it was dinnertime which Darcy was heartily in favour of, having had nothing but qat and black tea since breakfast.

Darcy found Elizabeth surrounded by local ladies with her soldiers in close proximity, he exhaled and relaxed. 

The dining room was similar to the mufrage with cushions on three walls and plates with dates, wheat, rice, beans and strangely, camel milk were centred in the middle of the floor.  
Darcy was offered a corner seat as the honorary guest, Elizabeth was offered the other.  
The meal was a quiet affair but the food was spicy and tasty.

After the meal, Darcy had a quiet chat with Aurora’s husband Marius about the condition aid workers of the Red Cross were working under and which were the biggest challenges in this particular area.

***

The car ride home was a quiet affair. Both had much to process and not much could be discussed in the car with Hamad. Not that they didn’t trust him but they quietly understood that they could not endanger him by giving him to much information. 

Within the safety of their room was another matter...

“I saw you speaking to Marius, did you mention baby Adra for me?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, I hope they put her on IV as soon as we left.”

“They do not have any IV at the camp Elizabeth.”

“But, she needs it! You saw how emaciated she was, there can be no time to lose!”

Elizabeth started pacing the room and threw her hands up in the air while Darcy sat calmly and watched.

“They cannot give what they do not have Elizabeth but Marius assured me that they were doing everything in their power to save little Adra. These things take time, too much food would kill a starving babe. Patients is key here.”

Elizabeth turned her glaring eyes on Darcy and approached him with a waving forefinger. 

“It is not good enough Darcy. We must send someone from Sana’a with the proper equipment. You have money...”

“Money will not help in this case where the government doesn’t allow for anything to be transported there. There are only 431 ICRC workers in the entire country and very little food and medical supplies are being allowed to pass through to the rural areas. We cannot take matters into our own hands but we have to work through the proper channels.”

“Men!” Elizabeth turned on her heels and stalked out onto the balcony, mutter under her breath about the insensitivity in the male species.   
Heavy footsteps were following in her wake.

“Not everyone wears there feelings on their sleeves like you do, Elizabeth. It doesn’t necessarily follow that I am deprived of every decent human emotion.  
I do not pretend to know what it has been like for you but you’re not the only one hurting...”

A smarting Elizabeth was concocting a sardonic retaliation when it hit her that she was about to use the same platitudes towards Darcy as she had feared herself.   
Her hands fell listless at her side before she gasped and clutched her stomach. 

“I’m such a selfish hypocrite.”

“No, you are one of the least selfish person I know Elizabeth.”

“You don’t understand Darcy. I never considered your emotions, I automatically thought it didn’t matter to you. That my miscarriage could be nothing but a great relief to you. How horrible is that! I never considered...”

Darcy gathered Elizabeth in his arms and stroked her back.

“I suppose some guys might react like that but not me. I kind of like the thought of a curly-haired little girl toddling after me.”

Elizabeth knew he was trying to lighten her mood which only made her feel even more wretched about what she was about to say.

“It was a boy. I even named him.”

Darcy sensed that she wasn’t finished kept quiet for as long as it took.

“I took a pregnancy test, three weeks after the gala that were negative. I thought of it as the best Christmas present I had ever gotten. It wasn’t until February when my jeans didn’t fit any more that I took another one that was positive. I was about 10 weeks along and it suddenly didn’t seem as scary. I decided to quit school and ask my uncle for a fulltime position at Lebon as soon as he got back from Crete.  
I had some savings for a down payment on a small apartment and I planned to save everything I earned so I could afford all the baby stuff I would need but it wasn’t until I miscarried that I understood.  
I named him Nicholas as he would have been the greatest gift...”

Elizabeth’s body trembled in his arms as his shirt soaked through.

“I am sorry for ruining your shirt...”

“Girls doesn’t usually cry in my arms Elizabeth but I am grateful that you shared your innermost thoughts with me. I didn’t hear anything shocking or unnatural for the circumstances. Did you never consider abortion?”

“No, the thought never entered my mind. I initially wished that I was not pregnant but when I was. It suddenly didn’t seem such a hardship but rather a blessing. I learned my lesson though and I have been on contraceptive shots ever since, not that I have needed to...”

Elizabeth was calming down and her tears abated. Darcy felt it might be safe to ask the question that had been nagging him since he found out.

“Why didn’t you try to contact me?”

“I did. I called your listed number, it was not in use and I called your secretary at Pemberley Investment.”

“Strange, I never got any message that you called.”

“I didn’t use my name because I was afraid that you regretted our interlude at Netherfield and had blacklisted me. I said I was calling from the development and research department of Lebon. Your secretary told me to contact Lady Catherine with any issues concerning the company because you were unreachable on your vacation. I told her it was a personal matter and she said that I could contact Caroline Bingley or your sister. Neither was an option.”

“I am sorry. I thought you had my unofficial number. It was in the note I left on the nightstand which Caroline took before she woke you up. I cannot help but wish I had known a lot sooner. Not that it would have changed the outcome but still. I wish I could have shared your anticipation and your sorrow.”

“Thank you, William!   
I think I would like to rest little on the bed. All the crying has given me a headache.”

Darcy followed Elizabeth to the bed and produced an ibuprofen and bottle of water to wash it down with. He bent down and whispered softly in her ear as to not agitated her headache further.

“You rest, I have some arrangements to make with Mr Mogalli. I will not be long.”

When Darcy re-entered 45 minutes later, Elizabeth slept peacefully until Ibrahim knocked on the door an hour later.

“What!”

Darcy came over to the bed and sat on the edge.

“I thought you might want a night snack?  
I am still hungry, I tried not to eat too much of the villagers’ offerings. They seemed to need it themselves.   
There is actually a restaurant on the roof terrace here. It has closed for the day but could be persuaded to open for a little while to feed hungry guests...”

“Sounds delicious. Do I need to change my wrinkled dress?”

“No. It will be just you and me.”

Darcy grabbed Elizabeth’s hands and pulled her to her feet. Found her hijab and wrapped it around her shoulders.  
Elizabeth looked at him, slowly pulling an eyebrow towards her hairline.

“It might be cold up on the roof...”

Darcy pulled a smiling Elizabeth along the corridor and up the stairs to the roof.

Tables and chairs had been pulled to the side to allow a single table with two chairs the focus of attention. A candelabra was lit and cast a dim light on the wine red tablecloth and chairs.   
Darcy pulled out the chair and gestured for Elizabeth to take a seat. She did and looked out over the city’s night-time skyline. The night was pitch black but the light in the windows below, reflected the warm earthy colour of the buildings, giving the view a warm glow.

Ibrahim entered and poured mango juice in their glasses. He disappeared for a few minutes but came back with a tray with a lid, hiding its content.  
With great bravado, a deep bow followed by ripping the lid off the tray and waving it theatrically in the air before serving his honourable guests kebab.   
Elizabeth squealed and clapped her hands together.

“Thank you, William, for serving me what my heart desire.   
You might want to look away though, because this may become ugly. I flatly refuse to eat it with anything but my hands...”

Darcy laughed and grabbed his kebab with both hands a dived in. 

They ate in comfortable silence and licked their fingers when they were done.

“I’m full, in fact, I am beyond full. I couldn’t possibly swallow a bit more,” Elizabeth groaned.

“Not up for dessert then?”

“I didn’t say that, what are you offering?”

“I thought you said you couldn’t eat a bit more.”

“That was food. All Bennets are born with an additional dessert stomach. What are we having?”

“Patience my dear, wait and see.”

Darcy clapped his hands twice and Ibrahim entered with another lidded tray. Bowed elegantly before revealing its content.   
A tower of sweet fritters covered in orange blossom syrup adorned each plate.  
Elizabeth licked her lips and proved that she did have an extra reservoir for sweets. Cleaning her plate short of licking it.

“Now, I’m full. I can hardly breathe because I have left no room for my lungs. You might have to give me CPR before the night is over.”

“Gladly,” Darcy replied with a grin before clapping twice, ones more.

Elizabeth groaned and clutched her stomach.

“I meant it this time. I cannot eat more, my stomach will surely rent in half...”

Darcy rose from his chair as the door opened and Ibrahim entered with his arms loaded with red roses.  
Darcy strode to his side and relieved him of his cargo. Walked back to Elizabeth and kneeled down on one knee in front of his trembling wife.

“I have one rose for each day I wasn’t there for you. From the day I left Netherfield until I found you in Hemsedal.”

Darcy worried for a second that Elizabeth would burst into tears, instead, she laughed. She guffawed until tears rolled down her cheeks.

“You are absolutely bonkers, did you know that?”

“Yes...”

Elizabeth threw herself around his neck, crushing the flowers but neither cared until thorns forced their way through her dress.

“Ouch!”

Darcy put the flowers on the table and tugged Elizabeth into a standing position. 

‘I have another gift for you...”

Darcy pulled out a vintage Yemen silver filigree amulet necklace from his pocket. 

“It is a necklace traditionally given to a bride for protection and good luck. It has five amulets, one for each month I unintentionally abandoned you.”

Elizabeth chocked up and covered her face with her hands.

“It is beautiful but it is too much.”

“That might be a problem, I might have gone a bit overboard but it is to the greater good of the Yemini community. Look at it as an act of charity towards the silversmith’s family. I did not even haggle on the price.”

Darcy put his arm around Elizabeth’s waist and gently lead her towards the brick railing of the roof terrace.  
Behind a potted plant, he had hid four armbands with the renowned Yemen silver grated pearls whom Elizabeth immediately put on her right arm.   
A massive choker necklace hung around the neck of a statue. Darcy pulled it off and fastened it around Elizabeth’s neck. Turning her towards him to admire his work.

“Just as I thought. It is the right length for you. It dips perfectly between your lush...”

Elizabeth put her forefinger under Darcy’s chin and gently pushed his head upwards until his eyes met hers. A light blush spread across his cheeks and Elizabeth’s heart melted. She brushed his lips with a light kiss.

“Thank you. It is perfect. I love that you have chosen vintage and locally made pieces. Did you know that I love silver? I actually prefer it to gold.”

“No. I admit that I chose pieces that I would prefer to see upon you. But there’s more, look at the hands.”

A couple of elaborate silver rings shaped like serpents adorned the statues hands and a pair of earrings hang on the leaves of an Aloe Vera plant.

Elizabeth was rendered speechless. 

“I have one other gift for you.” Elizabeth sighed exaggeratedly.

“I guess I must bear up with your generosity.”

Darcy breathed deeply before smiling shyly at Elizabeth. 

“It is not another piece of jewellery. I am afraid I have exhausted my trinket resources at hand. 

I am falling for you Elizabeth. I cannot explain it but as a need to be with you.   
When we separate I feel bereft, when we are together I feel at peace.  
It is like you are my opposite pole of a magnet. Pulling me towards you without reason or reflection, to strong to fight. I am not a wordsmith Elizabeth but I hope I am making sense to you.”

Darcy pulled a key from his pocket. 

“This is a symbolic key. Neither of my homes have a key lock but I want you to move in with me when we get back to England.   
I do not want a divorce.   
I want to get to know you better. We started at the wrong end of this but that doesn’t mean that we cannot make this marriage work.  
Will you consider me as your future husband Elizabeth?”

“I consider you as my current husband William.”

No more words were needed as their mouths became otherwise engaged until Ibrahim cleared his throat.  
Neither of the Darcy’s had noticed he was still there.

“Your phone Mr Darcy. Do you need anything else?”

Ibrahim came over and handed Darcy his phone.

“No, thank you, Ibrahim. That will be all.”

Darcy leafed through the pictures on his phone, he had totally forgotten that he had asked Ibrahim to capture the moment with his camera.   
He found one where he was on his knees with the bouquet of roses and Elizabeth were laughing. It looked innocent, romantic and contained no evidence of their whereabouts. Darcy sent it to Mrs Reynolds after consulting with Elizabeth on the matter. 

The picture created the sought after effect. The public went bananas over the stoic Mr Darcy having such a romantically bent trait.  
Accentuated by Caroline Bingley being spotted carrying boxes with office supplies, out of the Pemberley Investment building. The conclusion was immediately drawn that the society climber had given up on her target of choice due to his marital felicity.  
Elizabeth didn’t fare as well, as it was noticed that she wore the same dress she had worn to their appointment at Kleinfeld’s. A heated debate on high fashion versus vintage clothing ensued but of that, our dear couple were completely ignorant.

Elizabeth had wandered to the edge of the roof and stood gazing out over the sleeping city. Startling as Darcy lay his broad hand on the small of her back.

“Aurora told me that an Englishman had come through the village about the time Wickham came to Yemen. He had been trying to sell something. Aurora didn’t specify but what but I think we both know what it was.”

“Yes, I heard the same thing in the mufrage. It seems like he left, as we already knew, and came back a couple of days ago. Which in essentials means that he came after we did. I do not understand why he wasn’t ahead of us because I am certain that both he and Mary left for Yemen over a week before we did. The big question is where is Mary? I heard nothing of any female accompanying him though. Did you have any luck?”

Elizabeth shook her head in denial. 

“I will ask Hamad tomorrow if he has heard of any missionaries around.”

“It looks so peaceful, doesn’t it? One would hardly guess that the country is wracked with civil war and hunger, looking at Sana’a at night.  
I wonder at what they are all doing, behind the stained glass windows and dim lighting.”

“Very little I would presume, it’s past midnight and they have probably retired, as should we.”

Darcy slid his hand up to her shoulder and pulled her flushed against his side.

“I am not tired, the day has been too eventful to settle down into sleep.”

“Even better, it wasn’t sleeping I had in mind...”


	11. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Chapter 11 Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

The Darcy’s were late for breakfast the next morning. After discovering the roof terrace, it became their favourite restaurant for breakfast and their evening meal. At midday, it was just too hot.

An excursion to the Haraz Wildlife Sanctuary had been planned for the day. One would not think that the 115 km journey would take over three hours but it did on the non-existing roads through Yemen’s desert landscape.   
Manakha was the only city that had a hotel still open and running. Equipped with an overnight bag and a lust for exploration, they set out with their personal bodyguards in tow. 

Darcy utilized the long drive to question Hamad if there were any missionaries stationed in the area.

There had been a few but they had all left in march the previous year, after the Aden attack where 16 people, including four nuns, had been killed. 

News did not travel fast in this region though. There were villages in the area that had no road access where there could be someone left but Hamad thought it to be highly unlikely. 

Elizabeth sighed, the missionary lead was the only palatable she could think of at the moment. 

In Manakha, they checked into the Al Hajjerah Tourist Hotel or Funduq al'Agel as Hamad called it.  
They had been in luck to get a room at all since there were being held a wedding there that day.   
The room left was rather cramped and far from what Darcy was used to. Elizabeth laughed at his miserable expression and tugged him along.  
They were going hiking up in the hills, under the disguise of learning about their particular way of growing coffee.

Little gravity-defying villages came into view ever so often. Houses clinging on for dear life on little cliffs and rocks, stood out in between terraces with coffee shrubs and small trees.  
The high altitude gave the travellers a magical view, stretching kilometres in every direction but it also gave them an insight into the massive task ahead and how futile their efforts really were.   
They met a few welcoming locals but more often than not they were alone with a few goats for company.  
Dejected, they headed back to the hotel.

A car backfired and made Elizabeth jump a metre in the air. The explosion at Lebon had made her skittish in addition to the tinnitus constantly ringing in her ears. 

“Darcy! Did you notice that car? I swear the driver wasn’t a day over twelve.”

“Yes, I doubt he has a licence though.”

Entering the hotel lobby they couldn’t resist a sneak peek into the diwan, the wedding reception room. A large wedding party were watching a performance of three male Haraz dancers.   
Dressed in the traditional white thoobs and turbans but a western, black jacket. Circling each other, waving a massive curved dagger in the air.  
Looking around, Elizabeth noticed that all the men had a Jambiya dagger in their belt. 

The wedding revellers had spotted the misplaced couple and were waving them in but Darcy politely declined. Guiding Elizabeth with a stern hand, back to their room.

“Couldn’t we have stayed for a little while?”

“We could have stayed but it would not have been a little while and we could not have been together.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t you notice that there were only men present. The ladies must have been in another room. Besides, I have had enough qat to last me a lifetime.”

“Really? How quirky! Imagine spending your wedding day apart from your bride?”

Darcy caught Elizabeth by the hand, tugged her into his embrace and buried his face in her hair.

“I did,” Darcy whispered in Elizabeth’s ear.

“I am not planning to celebrate another man's wedding, chewing qat when I can make new memories with you Elizabeth.”

***

The Darcys were up early the next morning for their hike, checking out the opposite direction of yesterdays outing.  
There were so much territory to explore that they decided to stay an additional night. 

The Darcy’s drove back to Sana’a the next morning, in quiet contemplation. Despite the genuine hospitality and warm welcome they had received from every Yemini they had encountered, not a trace of Mary had been discovered.   
Scenic views and astonishing architecture notwithstanding, the area seemed void of any foreigners with the exception of themselves.

They had travelled east and west. The south wasn’t an option because of the frontline of the ongoing civil war. Not even Hamad could get permission to go there.  
Very little terrain were under the Houthi reign to the north.  
The little that was to be had were scarcely populated. They were running out of options to investigate.

The ambience was repressed when they arrived at The Old Sana’a Palace Hotel. Travel worn and discouraged. Neither had anticipated the challenges of searching in a vast area that had entire cities without road connection and villages scattered around in the most remote and inhospitable locations.

Back in their room, Darcy sat on the bed, resting his back against the headboard.   
Elizabeth halted at the window, gazing out but her eyes were vacant. It was obvious to Darcy that she wasn’t looking but thinking. She worried her lips with the tips of her fingers, sighed and her chin dropped to her chest.

“Come her Elizabeth!”

Elizabeth crawled into the bed and settled between Darcy’s legs, resting her back against his chest.  
Darcy’s arms encircled her waist to pull her close and his chin rested on the top of her head.

“We need to rethink before we set out on another excursion Elizabeth. There must be something we can do that we have not thought of yet. Because we are looking for the needle in the haystack, we need a metal detector.”

“I believe we have no other options than to trust Hamad, or Leah if we can find her...”

“Perhaps we should revisit the souq tomorrow, we'll have to pass Leah’s school to get there. If we pass around the noon break we might be able to get a glimpse of her. In case we cannot locate her then we will head home at two when the school closes for another try.   
You must be the one to approach her though Elizabeth. I cannot speak to a Yemini lady in the middle of a busy market.”

“Do you believe we will find Mary?”

“Yes. She is somewhere in the area. We know for a fact that she arrived at the Sana’a airport a week before us.”

“But why did she not travel with Wickham to the east?”

“I have wondered about the same thing and why did it take him so long to get there.”

“Perhaps we should check the hospitals, she might have had an accident. Do you think Mr Mogalli would be able to survey the hospitals for us?”

“Good thinking Elizabeth, I will go down to the reception and ask him directly.”

Darcy kissed her head, extracted himself from their cosy position on the bed and went down to the hotel lobby. Ten minutes later, he was back.

“Mr Mogalli will call the hospitals and the doctors offices in Sana’a and let us know as soon as he finds something.  
We should stay home for the rest of the day and eat here as well.”

“Yes, but what will we do while we wait?”

“Snoggle?” Darcy suggested, wriggling his eyebrows. 

“Oh, that is just too clammy when you have to ask for it. I would rather be swept off my feet than...”

Elizabeth hadn’t meant it literally but her feet left the floor in flourish but soon enough connected with the bed.

“You are always going to keep me on my toes aren’t you?”

“Of course, I always thought you would make a prima ballerina.”

“That statement is going to cost you.”

Elizabeth squealed and squirmed under the massive tickling attack. Her hands caught over her head in Darcy’s hand left her defenceless to fight his free hand that were roaming her sensitive sides.

“I thought you wanted to snuggle?” She panted breathlessly. 

“Forget it!”

Elizabeth didn’t have much options left but her wriggling had slid her further down under him. Arching into a yoga bridge, she undulated her hips against the most sensitive part of his body.  
He lowered himself to press her body into the mattress. 

“Resorting to dirty tricks, are we? Two can play that game...”

Practising some pointed undulation of his own, his hand slid up her torso and his mouth descended on hers. 

Thoroughly kissed Elizabeth drew away from her attacker.

“I thought you were going to punish me but this feels more like a reward, to be honest...”

Darcy groaned and Elizabeth wasn’t talking after that.

***

Elizabeth and Darcy went to their favourite restaurant that night after Mr Mogalli had informed them that his enquiries at the local hospital and doctors offices had been fruitless.   
The Darcy’s were braving the local dish Saltah, a hot lamb stew served with flatbread. They chose lemonade to drink as alcohol was forbidden. 

“It was actually a relief that Mr Mogalli didn’t find Mary today. I hope that wherever she is that she is not sick or injured.”

Elizabeth could not bring herself to mention the most awful scenario that would make it impossible for Mary to communicate. 

“Have you heard anything from Richard?”

“Yes, I asked him to check Mary’s phone calls and the activity on her credit card but there hasn’t been any movements on either since she left Riyadh. The battery on her phone is probably flat because they are not able to connect to it. It is strange that she hasn’t used her card though because we have not found any reasons to believe that she carried a lot of cash.”

“Let’s hope that we encounter Leah on our way to the souq tomorrow and that she has miraculously found Mary in a quaint, powerless village. Preaching to a small congregation that do not understand a word she is saying. I imagine them smiling pleasantly while she japs on...”

“Quite a pretty little picture you are painting. Are you up for some dessert?”

“No thank you, Darcy. I would like to call it a night and snuggle up in bed.”

Darcy stood up and went around the table to help Elizabeth up from her chair. 

“Thank you, William, you are a true gentleman.”

“Perhaps, I am just making sure you are not too tired...”

***

At noon the next day, the Darcy's sauntered leisurely towards the souq. Procrastinating as much as they dared at the square behind the school Leah worked at. Although there were a lot of kids outside, there was no sign of Leah.

“She might be hiding because of our entourage,” Elizabeth whispered in Darcy’s ear.  
He nodded in reply.

A couple of hours were no hardship to spend at the souq al-Milh. Although the name means salt market, the souq had every imaginable, and some unimaginable, commodities and merchandises for sale.   
Elizabeth being one of very few females at the market, caused no problems at all. Everyone was just as eager to sell their goods to her as they were to Darcy and Elizabeth was starting to wonder if the cautions they had taken had been a gross exaggeration. 

Elizabeth bought ethnic beaded necklaces for each of her sisters, her mother and Charlotte and became very popular amongst the vendors. Unlike many other comparable markets around the globe, the merchants were not pushy which the Darcy’s highly appreciated.  
Darcy copied Elizabeth and bought matching necklaces for his sister and his secretary. For Richard, they bought a beautiful handmade pipe and prayed that they would not get in trouble for the dubious item in their luggage at the airport. 

“Do I need to be jealous since you are buying jewellery for your secretary?”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Darcy. 

“Yes, she is one of the most important females in my life. Despite the fact that she is well into her fifties and happily married to my rather intimidating head of security. Other than that, you should fear her cunning ability to box your ears when needed and her mean ability to cook a steak. I might leave you in dire straits if she invites me over for dinner.”

“Oh no, you don’t. I will have a tap on your phone and beat you to it. Half of it will be gone by the time you get there and I will lick the rest so you cannot eat it.”

Elizabeth grinned mischievously at her husband. 

“Your tongue on the meat will not deter me Elizabeth...”

Elizabeth blushed crimson, turned away and sauntered towards the fabrics, feigning ignorance at her husband’s grin.

It didn’t ease her mind that there were many more females in this area of the market as most of them wore the burka while she only had her hijab on. It occurred to her that while the hijab was sufficient in the rural areas, the burka was more common in the city.  
She bought some gold coloured fabric, having no idea what to use it for but it was too beautiful to pass.

Darcy struggled a bit more with coming up with a gift for Charles. He eventually found some antique silver chalices that he purchased.  
Elizabeth bought her father an old book just before two o’clock that was hastily paid for before they headed back towards the hotel.

They had no more luck in finding Leah at their way back than they had had on their way there.  
Before dinner, they discussed what could have caused her disappearance if she, in fact, had disappeared. She might be hiding from them for other reasons.

The day was hot so the newlyweds waited until late in the evening before they got up on the rooftop restaurant to eat their last meal of the day.

Darcy, who had been little forthcoming with what had happened during his first trip with Bingley, started to share some of their trials with his wife.

They had never been to Dubai, as Caroline had claimed.  
They had landed and transferred to a flight to Syria where they had been hot on Wickham’s heels for weeks before they lost him at the Iraqi border.  
In Syria, Darcy had seen things he could never tell his wife but the sadness that crossed his face did not fool her.

Richard had found digital traces of Wickham in Yemen but Darcy and Bingley had been held up in Saudi Arabia for a month before they got the visas that allowed them to follow.  
When they finally got past the Yemini border, Wickham had gotten a full month head start. They had searched for the thirty days their visas allowed but had not met with success. Renewal of their visas for another thirty days had cost them a meagre hundred pounds but both he and Bingley had caught a salmonella infection after eating some infected chicken. Neither had been critically ill but needless to say, they had suffered a few days set back. By the time they finally caught up with Wickham, he was on his way, out of the country because his visa had expired.

Bingley had business to attend to, the minute they set foot on British soil. The explosion had to dealt with by his law firm in London but Darcy had headed directly to Meryton and Lebon.   
Trying to placate a livid aunt for leaving her to manage her own factory whole it blew up. It had taken some time to placate her but she had accidentally let it drop that Elizabeth had not been well and was currently on vacation to recover after an incident where she had been hospitalized prior to the explosion.  
Cold fear had descended on Darcy who had gotten through a rough time abroad on some bewitching memories and quite a lot of vivid dreams, during his hunt for Wickham. The little minx from Lebon’s laboratory had created a dent in his suit of armour that could not be chased away by time and distance.

His reception at Longbourn had been a lot chillier than he would have anticipated.   
Mr Bennet had treated him with a coldness he could not explain until he accused him of being as fickle with his messages as George Wickham.   
Darcy’s temper had flared with the accusations but he had calmly told Mr Bennet with conviction what a lowlife he believed George Wickham to be.  
Mr Bennet’s alarm had been raised as the same Wickham had contacted his daughter Mary with a missionary position in Yemen.  
He admitted that his often forgotten middle child had been adamant in her pleas to be allowed to work in the name of the almighty.  
She had given him no peace until he relented, a few hours later. Not that he had any right to deny her in the first place, all grown up as she was.  
Wickham had promised to keep in touch although he had not used his surname. Mary had referred to him as Mr George and had explained that she knew him well from her bible study group and being such a handsome man, Mr Bennet thought that he could not have any ulterior motives towards his plain daughter.  
It was not until Mary had been gone for three days that he had showed the last communication from Mary to Jane.  
A picture of Mary and Wickham at Sana’a airport.   
Jane had immediately recognised Wickham and they had been calling Mary every hour since.

Darcy promised to look for Mary on his return to Yemen if he, in exchange, could get the information on Elizabeth’s whereabouts. He had to get to the bottom of this, even if he had to go to the mountains of Norway.

Darcy’s narrative was abruptly interrupted by gunshots.   
He thought it sounded like they were fired from the street below but he took no chances as the echo reverberated between the walls. He thought it might be at least five or six shots but it was difficult to tell exactly.   
Grabbing Elizabeth, he made her hunch down as he lead her back to their room.

“Stay here and lock the door while I figure out what is going on.”

“You are not leaving me here alone and there is absolutely no freaking way I will let you go out into an ongoing gunfight which most likely have nothing to do with us. You do not even have a weapon, William!”

Darcy sighed. 

“I have to do something...”

“Yes, you may help me defend us if the altercation comes to this room which is very unlikely. As long as it is gunshots and not bombs or missiles, we better stay here.”

Elizabeth took hold of both of Darcy’s hands.

“I know you are the ultimate fixer-upper but you have nothing against any armed guerrilla soldier or whatever is out there.” 

Darcy freed his hands to wrap them around Elizabeth, pulling her towards the sofa where he flopped down and pulled Elizabeth with him and onto his lap. Burying his head in her neck.

“But the children Elizabeth, in Syria, I saw a child that had been killed. The image was burned into my retina, I cannot forget it.”

“It is late William, there are no children out in the streets at this time of night.”

Darcy let out a long breath.

“No, I guess you are right...”

“I am, trust me.”

Elizabeth continued to stroke Darcy’s back, kissing the top of his head until he raised a tear-streaked face for her to see his distress. 

“I do not deserve you Elizabeth.”

“Probably not but I'm yours regardless.”

It felt like an eternity but it was probably not more than half an hour later that Mr Rahmed, the owner of the hotel, came to reassure them that the shooting had been nothing but a hoax gone awry.   
It had become tradition for the groom’s friends to try to kidnap him on his wedding night and bring him to a village, outside of Sana’a. They had followed his car from the venue but when they finally managed to kettle them in and force them to stop. The car did not contain the bride and groom but a cousin and her husband. Thoroughly fooled, the friends had fired their guns in the air in a fit of pique. 

“Are you saying that a thwarted prank made some useless punks fire...”

Elizabeth had taken Darcy by the elbow and tugged to redirect his attention. 

“Thank you Mr Rahmed, for taking the time to inform us yourself.” 

The hotel owner looked relieved, hastily said goodnight and were out of the door before Mr Darcy regained his speech. His scowl he had managed to retain though. 

“It has been an emotional day but your anger was misdirected, William.”

“Yes, I suppose it was.”


	12. Success And Failure

Chapter 12 Success and Failure 

Elizabeth missed her family. All the talk of Longbourn and her father had made her even more homesick than before. She had not brought her phone nor her laptop as electronic devices were difficult to get across the Yemini border. Bringing them with her to Yemen would have delayed their already late arrival significantly.

Darcy had both his business phone and laptop at hand though and Elizabeth asked him if she could borrow his laptop for a while.  
They had decided to go back to the Rock Palace in the evening, in a futile attempt of locating Leah. It left her with a few hours to kill before their excursion.

She settled on the sofa and browsed her Facebook notifications. There were too many to check them all and since Mary didn’t have a Facebook account, she only checked Jane’s latest news which was ladled with romantic pictures of herself and Charles. Elizabeth smiled, her sister looked very happy and utterly adored by a puppy-eyed Bingley. ‘Good for her but Elizabeth wasn’t faring to bad herself...’

It suddenly occurred to her that Mary had a Snapchat account, the only form of social media that she didn’t regard as dangerous as the pictures were gone in a few seconds.   
Elizabeth couldn’t access her account through the laptop and offered Darcy to switch with his phone. He complied and Elizabeth anxiously connected with her account. Feeling utterly guttered when there was no snap from Mary.   
She noticed that she had a friend request and sucked in her breath when she saw the name.

“What?” Darcy’s head snapped up as Elizabeth jumped off the sofa, ran and jumped into the bed he was laying on.

“Look!”

“You’ve got a friend request?”

“Look at the name!”

Elizabeth was shoving the phone under his nose.

“I cannot read it at such a close distance Elizabeth.”

“It is from Leahsaniino, do you think it can be our Leah?”

“What are you waiting for? Open it!”

Elizabeth accepted the friend request and a picture of an obviously very sick Mary flashed before their eyes. Elizabeth hand flew to her mouth and tears leaked down her cheeks. The image of her pale and gaunt sister was too much.

“Of my God! Were is she? It looks like a dark little hut somewhere... Let me check the chat.”

Leah had found Mary almost a week ago. She had followed a lead she had gotten from another teacher who had seen someone in her home village that resembled Elizabeth. The teacher had seen Elizabeth standing outside with Leah and Darcy, just as they were about to leave. 

Mary, had come to the village with her husband? They had paid for lodging and food for one night as they were bound for the eastern mountains. 

The next morning Mary had become violently ill, putting an end to their immediate travelling plans.  
She had not been able to hold anything but small amounts of water down ever since. Her husband had left after a few days, without paying for the additional days but with a promise to come back with antibiotics and other supplies from the city.

They had not seen him since but rumour had it that he had travelled in the wrong direction if he wanted to go to the city of Sana’a which was by far the nearest city.

Leah explained that because of the ongoing cholera outbreak, antibiotics were scarce and difficult to come by. She didn’t believe that Mary had cholera but a salmonella infection although she could by no means be certain. She was not medically trained.

The family she stayed with refused to release her until they were paid what they were owed and Leah was begging Elizabeth to come as soon as possible. Preferably with a lump sum of money, antibiotics and clean water. She suspected that Mary wasn’t getting any better because the contamination came from the water she was drinking.

Luckily, she had left detailed directions to Mary's whereabouts. The Darcy’s was out the door within minutes. 

Mr Mogalli was very accommodating in getting Hamad to come and escort them.  
Clean water and food had been no issue for those with money to spend but the antibiotics were a problem. The time was ten past two. Nobody was answering any phones as all the men were in the mufrage, chewing qat. 

After having delayed their departure with half an hour, they decided to let the matter rest and find Mary. Darcy had a plan in mind and explained it to Elizabeth while they were driving east.

“We can go to the red cross facility we visited a couple of days ago. I ordered some antibiotics for them after we left.”

“But... will they have arrived from England already?”

“I did not order it from England. I ordered it from a pharmaceutical wholesaler in Saudi Arabia. I have no idea if it made it across the border though, we can only hope...”

Elizabeth kissed Darcy full on the mouth, despite their audience in the car.

“You are the best man I know. You seem to think of everything but never brag about it.”

Elizabeth snuggled herself into the crook of Darcy’s arm, resting her head on his chest. Seeking comfort in his embrace. 

The car drive wasn’t too long, the bad news was that in order to get to the village Mary was at, they had to walk the last kilometre as there were no roads nor a flat surface, to drive on. Even the old Toyota Four Runner could not climb the terraces up to the village if it could even be described as such. Five traditional homes were scattered around on the top of individual rocks, overlooking the terraces. The view was impressive, the access, not so much.

Elizabeth and Darcy were a bit winded when they reached the plateau with the house where Mary was staying.

Leah wasn’t there anymore but as Hamad had accompanied them, the language was not a problem. 

Their military escort had taken the time to have a midday siesta that probably involved a bag of qat.   
Elizabeth didn’t mind as she saw no need for protection from the elderly farmers, hosting her sister.

The lady took Elizabeth to see her sister while the menfolk adhered to the mufrage to negotiate the money that was owed and the plan for Mary’s future removal. 

The moment Elizabeth laid eyes on her sister, it was plain as a day that they would not be leaving anytime soon. There was no way that Mary was going to be able to climb down to the car, neither would it be easy to carry her.  
Elizabeth sat carefully on the edge of the bed and spoke in a low soothing voice.

“Mary, are you awake?”

“Elizabeth? Am I home?”

“No, you are still in Yemen but Darcy and I have come to take care of you so you can get well enough to go home. We need to locate Wickham though. Do you have any idea where he is?”

“He has gone to a mountain in the desert to fetch some of his friends to help me get well. They have a small community and I am going to teach them Gods words.”

“I highly doubt he will come back for you Mary. In fact, let’s hope he does not...  
You see, the friends he was talking about are members of a small al-Qaeda cell and his reason for travelling here was not to preach Gods words but to sell explosives that he stole from Lebon. Didn’t you know that he was the suspect of the stolen explosives from work?”

“What stolen explosives, no one tells me anything...”

Elizabeth mouth dropped open, she had not talked about the theft at home because she had been sworn to secrecy. It had never occurred to her that the management had been successful in their efforts to put a lid on it. She had presumed that everyone knew but didn’t talk about it because they understood that she wasn’t allowed to. 

By the time Elizabeth had finished her reflections, Mary had fallen asleep. She touched her forehead, it was warm to the touch but not burning hot.  
Elizabeth dipped a cloth in the cold water that she had brought along and moistened her dried and chapped lips. 

Certain that she could not do more for her sister at the present time, Elizabeth went in search of her husband.   
She found him behind some shrubs attending to nature.

“How is your sister?” 

“She is very sick, I do not think we can move her in her present condition. It would be very difficult to carry her as well. It will be better to get her some medicine so she can improve before transportation or get me a helicopter with medical personnel...”

“That will be virtually impossible but I can go to Aurora and Marius to see if the antibiotics have arrived there.”

“And leave me here?”

“I will be back in a few hours Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth grabbed his hand and tugged him behind some bushes before pulling his head down to attack his lips with hers.  
Kissing him thoroughly while pressing herself as close to him as humanly possible.   
Darcy eventually pushed her gently away. 

“Have mercy Elizabeth, I have to get Hamad and the other men so that we can be back before dark.  
I have arranged our accommodations with our hosts so we have a place to sleep tonight.”

“The cottage seems so small, where are we going to sleep?”

“They are giving up their bedroom for us, the men will sleep on the sofas in the mufrage room.”

“But where are they going to sleep?”

“They have agreed to sleep at their neighbour’s house which means that you and I will have a room to ourselves to pick up where we left off...”

“Mmm, I like the sound of that.”

“You are an incorrigible woman Elizabeth.”

“Are you complaining?”

“No, not at all.”

A swift peck on the lips was all he dared as anything more would delay his departure and furthermore his return.

“Goodbye Elizabeth.”

“Drive safe!”

Elizabeth went back to her sister who was still sleeping restlessly.  
She was tossing and turning so much that Elizabeth wondered if it might not be better to wake her up.   
In the end, she didn’t dare but sat quietly, reading a book by her bedside.   
A couple of hours later, Mary finally stirred, begging for a sip of water.  
She drank greedily before Elizabeth removed the bottle. She had read that small amounts, frequently given was the best course of action. 

“Elizabeth, I wonder if George stole the explosives. Did he put it in my luggage?”

“I do not think so. The sheer quantity of it were too heavy compared to the luggage both he and you checked in at the airport.”

“I am still having a hard time believing it of him. He was so nice to me. Always polite and never tried to take any advantage of me. He sounded like a true Christian.”

“He is a wordsmith but he is corrupt underneath.”

“But why go to Yemen, twice, without bringing any of the explosives with him?”

“The only explanation is that he intends for it to be used in England and that is why he is seeking out known terrorist groups. To sell them an easy way to hurt England.”

“Have you found the explosives?”

“No we have not and that is why it is so important to find Wickham. We need to get him to tell us where it is before someone use it on innocent people.”

“What a rotter.”

“That he is. Did you know that he swindled Mary King for ten-thousand pounds and we suspect that it was he who drugged Jane as well.”

“What! Jane was drugged, did he abuse her?”

“No, no he did not. He gave her a truth serum to get her to spill the beans on where the two-component military explosives were hidden but she didn’t know.”

“Two components? How do they look?”

Elizabeth sighed, what she was about to reveal was classified information but she hoped that the cause would defend the violation. 

“It consists of an aluminium powder and a pink liquid.”

Mary gasped. 

“I think he brought some with him. He handed me a silver-coloured powder eyeshadow and a pink nail polish to bring with me.”

“I thought he didn’t come back to England but waited for you in Saudi Arabia?”

“He did but one of his mates Denny, I do not know his surname, picked me up and drove me to the airport. He went by Netherfield to pick them up.”

“But how did he get into Netherfield?”

“He didn’t have to. It was down in the old bunker at the beach.”

“But, the roof on the bunker gave in a couple of decades ago.”

“Yes but the entrance is still intact and well hidden under the overgrowth of weeds. It is four or five metres long, one and a half metres wide and two metres high. It is plenty of room...”

“How come I didn’t know about this?”

“Because you are always in the water Elizabeth while I do not like to swim or sunbathe for that matter so I wandered around.”

“Where is the eyeshadow and nail polish now?”

“In my toiletry, I suppose. At least, there is where I put it.”

Mary was growing tired, her voice was getting weaker. Elizabeth acknowledged that her questioning was soon at an end so she paddled over to search Mary’s luggage but the eyeshadow and nail polish were not there.

Elizabeth turned to Mary to ask if she had another suitcase but Mary had already fallen asleep.   
She rejoiced in the fact that Mary had been able to keep down the little water she had drunk. Surely that was a good sign.

It was worrying to think of Wickham in the possession of even a small amount of the explosive though. Perhaps the terrorists had demanded to be brought an example to test the goods...

Elizabeth went outside to see if Darcy was back yet but there were no signs of him or the rest of the men. Had all six of the soldiers that never left their side, followed William to the Red Cross camp? Were they lounging in the car below that Elizabeth could no longer see because of the darkness that enveloped her?   
It was strange that nobody had come asking for food or drink...  
Elizabeth was indeed hungry herself and went to find the food supplies that they had brought with them. She chose some bread and cheese with a bottle of water to wash it down with.  
As soon as the last piece of bread went down her throat, she ventured outside again. It was now pitch black. No moonlight or twinkling stars were out to lead the way for wayward travellers. Elizabeth reluctantly realised that Darcy was not coming back that night. Hoping that the night had come as surprising to him as it had to her and that he had chosen to err on the safe side rather than taking the risk of travelling in the dark. The warnings against venturing outside after dark had been forceful and many. Darcy was a wise man that would not take unnecessary risks.   
The memory of him ready to run out into a shooting the previous night crept up on her but she shrugged it away and went back to Mary.

Mary slept soundly and did not stir.  
Elizabeth had only a flashlight to illuminate her surroundings as the house they were staying in, had no electricity. She tried to find a comfortable position in the chair next to Mary’s bed but gave up and went in search of the bedroom she was to share with her husband. It was easy enough to locate, as it was the only bedroom in the house, not currently occupied by a Bennet sister.

Elizabeth lay awake, long into the night. She had gotten used to Darcy’s warm frame beside her to cuddle up to and share her thoughts of the day with. It was like a significant part of her was missing and in many aspects it was.

***

Elizabeth slept in and the sun had been up for a couple of hours when voices penetrated her sleep fogged brain.   
Their tone of voice suggested English although they were not close enough for Elizabeth to distinguish what they were saying.   
A few minutes passed and Elizabeth recognised one of the voices. Hamad was back, what a relief.  
The deep baritone voice that answered him was more difficult to hear but something was off.

“The Darcy’s have the second-floor bedroom but we know the little mousy missus is alone at the moment.”

Elizabeth heard a low chuckle that didn’t sound like her husband.

“Yes, thank you for incapacitating the ogre. He is not easily outmanoeuvred but I wouldn’t call the missus mousy. In fact, it was her sauciness that paid for my entire adventure.”

“Really?”

“Let me show you. The press have been trying to find a scratch in Darcy’s lacquer for years. He is a very private man and they had nothing on him until I wandered into Netherfield in the middle of the night. Doing a little snooping around. The boneheads hadn’t set the alarm nor locked the doors. I came upon a lovely domestic scene in one of the bedrooms. Here, see for your self...”

A low whistle permeated the air.

“She’s a real brookie cookie but she seems rather attached to the man, even in her sleep...”

“Sure but look there, on the sheet...  
Several tabloids fought to buy that photo and I got a handsome price for it but better yet. I threw them a fib that I had gotten hold of some inside information that they were about to go on a very exotic holiday but were uncertain of the exact country. I got a journalist ID and visas to several countries that I thought might be interested in my goods.   
I was of course, fairly certain that Darcy would follow me and that Elizabeth would not.  
Unfortunately, I did not foresee the difficulties I would encounter to find a buyer.  
My friends from the cave were the first ones to take even a slight interest but they had no use for explosives that could not be brought here. I offered to provide a suicide bomber as they had no one to spare and had not planned any attacks on London. They couldn’t turn down such an offer, handed to them on a silver platter...  
Mary was the only one I could think of that l would be able to convince to come here. She is very religious but I thought that converting her to Islam might be easier than a nonbeliever.   
The problem was that Darcy married the little cherry bomb and the paper was pulling out. I could’ve ended up stranded in Riyadh!  
I must have been born under a lucky star though because a few hours later, a picture of the smutty couple went viral and the paper called me up. Eating kilos of humble-pie because the love birds had been photographed, entering the plane to Riyadh.  
After months of trouble, it was finally coming together and I had been lounging happily on an Caribbean island now if Mary hadn’t gotten sick within the first twelve hours on Yemini soil. I was worried that she would actually die the first few days but I hope she is better now. Did you see her?”

“I did, she did not look good...”

“Well, if the worst comes to pass, at least we have a substitute in her sister. How did you manage to neutralise her husband?”

“I have the car!”

“He could walk back...”

“Not without the correct papers at the checkpoints, they are in the glove compartment in the car...”

“Genius. What about his entourage of soldiers.”

“They will not get far. I poured a kilo of sugar in their fuel tank...”

Wickham laughed uproariously and probably slapped Hamad’s back, by the hollow sound of the smack.

“I am happy you decided to join my team, Hamad. Let us check how the chicks are doing.”

Elizabeth’s mind was reeling. Frantically searching for escape routes or a place to hide.  
She was only on the first floor but the house sat perched on a protruding rock, making the drop from the window about seven metres high. The landing on the uneven, rocky surface would probably break her legs.

She could scramble under the bed or hide in the closet but not even an idiot like Wickham would fail to check those places. The house’s sleek exterior left nothing to climb down on nor was there a tree in sight.  
Besides, she couldn’t leave Mary to fend for herself.

Resolute, Elizabeth made herself decent and went down to Mary’s room on the ground floor. Praying that Darcy and the soldiers would be there before anything sinister could happen. 

Hamad and Wickham had beaten her to it and were assessing an apparently sleeping Mary.

“Elizabeth! Just the one I was hoping to see.”

“Wickham.”

“No need to turn formal with me Elizabeth or have the Darcy fortune gone to your head?”

Elizabeth didn’t deign to answer that but went to her sister and touched her forehead with the inside of her wrist. She didn’t feel too hot but she seemed to be in a deep sleep which was worrisome in itself since she had been sleeping since the previous afternoon.

“Hamad, will you check outside if the others have arrived?”

“Sure!”

Hamad left and Elizabeth could hear him exchange words with someone in Arabic, half a minute later.   
She didn’t acknowledge the other occupant of the room but tended to the comfort of her sleeping sister and changed the empty water bottle on the nightstand with a full one. At least, Mary had finished the one she had left the previous night without returning it since the bucket by her bed was clean.

Hamad re-entered the bedroom, shaking his head.

“It’s only Yasser and Nadheer that are here. They want us to take the lady back to the cave.”

“What! We agreed that they should follow us. I am of a mind to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“You and me both Wickham but those guys follow the orders of no one but themselves. We should wait here until Mary is well enough to travel.”

“No way! She is half-dead already. Look at her! Even with medications which by the way, we do not have. It will be days until she can sit upright. No!  
We will take her sister, she will fit the job as good as any.”

“I am not going anywhere, not without my husband.”

“Do you really want the al-Qaeda to get hold of your wealthy husband Elizabeth. They may torture him until all his bank accounts are dried out. You, on the other hand, are disposable.   
You are of little interest, financially...”

“It doesn’t matter, I am not coming.”

Elizabeth had time to question her own naivety as well as hearing the cracking sound in her nose as Wickham’s fist forcefully connected with her face. A millisecond later, the world went black.

***

Darcy had walked for hours in the hot sun. It could have been worse in this desert climate, if not for the high altitude. The plateau they were on was at 2000 metres so the heat was bearable but he felt the skin on his face become tight with sunburns.

Marius and a local guide, Jaden, were accompanying him. Hamad had left, probably minutes after their arrival at the Red Cross camp.   
What was even stranger was that the soldiers who were forced upon them for their protection had vanished as well.   
With no idea of what had happened and no signals on his phone, he was left with little options but to walk back to his wife.  
Luckily, Marius had received some of the antibiotics he had ordered and they set out at daybreak. It was a gruelling five to six hours walk and they were trying to beat the midday sun but the checkpoints proved a challenge for the now paperless Darcy. Half an hour here and there, arguing with the checkpoint officers to let him pass.

It had become afternoon before they had entered the empty house on the hill. Totally deserted until the owners of the house noticed he was back and came running. Jaden spoke both Arabic and English and translated between the men but it took the double amount of time to get the information. 

Apparently, Mary had managed to stagger across the rocks to the neighbouring house but neither understood a word she said.

Darcy ran to the exhausted Mary who presented him with an unfathomable story about Hamad and Wickham.   
Darcy sat down on a rock, trying to figure out what to do while Marius and Jaden carried Mary back to the house to start her treatment.   
He had to get a grip on himself, remembering well the last time Wickham had absconded with a female Darcy loved. ‘Love!’ The thought hit his solar plexus with force and made it cramp up beneath his breastbone. 

‘He loved her, when had that happened? He was of course well aware that he was falling for Elizabeth and he definitely wanted her but love? A love that deprived him of breath and filled him with such a profound anxiety that he could hardly think?  
He had quickly become comfortable around her which was not his usual way but love?   
And now Wickham had taken her away from him like he had done with his sister, less than a year ago.  
He had recovered his sister though. Despite her drug-affected reluctance to come home. Her three million trust fund had shrunken by a hundred thousand pounds but she had come out in the other end, wiser but shyer. Could Elizabeth have followed him voluntarily, he was very persuasive? No, Mary had said he had knocked her out cold.   
Dear Lord if he hurt her!   
He already had, Mary had mentioned a bone-cracking noise when he hit her.   
Wickham was a dead man. He did no longer care if he had to out his sister. She had, after all, taken the Ecstasy by her own free will. Although Wickham hadn’t called it a drug. He had said it was a homoeopathic medicine to relieve ones shyness and inhibitions.   
G's inhibitions had been completely erased, provoking her to do things she would regret forever.   
When he found her she had taken four and would have died had he not taken her to the A&E to rehydrate her body.   
It still made him shudder to think about how close he had gotten to lose his sister.  
She should have known better though. The pills looked nothing like the small sugar granules that the homoeopaths used.’

Darcy sat slumped on the rock with his head in his hands when Marius put a comforting hand on his shoulders. 

“Come, dinner is ready.”

“I am not hungry.”

“You need to eat if not for anything else than retaining your strength.”

“I do not have time to eat. I need to find Elizabeth.”

“On foot?”

“I have to do something...”

“A soldier is on his way up the terraces, let’s hope he has a jeep down on the road.”

Darcy sprang to his feet and set out at a brisk pace to meet the lone soldier. 

“What the hell happened and where the hell is my wife?”

“Your sham bride, you mean?”

“You speak English?” Darcy looked incredulous at the Yemini soldier who didn’t feel the need to answer his rhetorical question. 

“Did you think we didn’t have internet? We know all about your little scheme but as it worked out to our advantage, we let you play along.”

“We could have gotten visas without being married?”

“No, Elizabeth would not have been admitted.”

“Have Elizabeth been arrested?”

“No. She is leading us to an al-Qaeda cell that the government have been tracking for months.”

“You are using my wife as a decoy?”

Darcy was livid.   
It was a good thing that the raucous they made, had drawn the attention of Marius and Jaden. They both put a hand on Darcy’s arms, as much for restraint as comfort while trying to distract his attention. 

“Did you walk here, are you the only one here? Mary told us she overheard Hamad saying he had poured sugar in your fuel tank.” Jaden spoke in English so the others would understand. 

“That was a lie. I have hid my jeep off the road, in case they came back for some reason.”

“Why would you need to hide your car?” 

“I do not want Wickham nor his friends to know that we are on to them.”

“What about Hamad?”

“He's with us.”

“He's a soldier?”

“No. He chose to cooperate with us when he was approached.”

“Are you telling me that my wife is being taken into a terrorist cell with the protection of a tour guide?”

“No. Hamad has training in protection but he is not alone. There are soldiers following them at a distance.   
They will move in when the time is right.”

“When will that be?”

“None of your business Mr Darcy.”

“Why are you here then?”

“I am keeping you under surveillance, making sure you do not do anything stupid to jeopardise our operation.”

“What I do not understand is why you didn’t track Wickham the second time he entered Yemen. You must have had some suspicions then...”

“We did, it is how we found this place but couldn’t track him further.”

“What about his tour guide?”

“Dead.”

Darcy’s felt the blood rush through his ears as his heartbeat exhilarated. 

“If you knew Mary was still here and sick. How come no one thought to procure any treatment for her?”

“I have a child with cholera at home Mr Darcy. Which one would you chose to give the antibiotics to if you could get hold of some?”

Darcy decided to change his tactics. He needed to get closer to Elizabeth without raising any suspicion.

“Would it be possible to move Mary to the Red Cross camp? We are four stout men here. It should be possible for us to carry Mary down to your jeep and drive her where she could get better care.”

“No. I need to stay on post. You are not the one giving the orders around here Mr Darcy, neither am I.”

Darcy had gotten one piece of useful information out if the entire ordeal and he planned to take full advantage, later...


	13. Terrorist Territory

Chapter 13 Terrorist Territory 

Elizabeth came to, hanging over the shoulders of a man, descending a steep slope. He was panting hard and she felt him slipping on several occasions. Her nose pounded and her head felt like it was about to explode with the jarring movements.

“Let me down, I can walk.”

“Sleeping beauty are finally awake, good.”

Elizabeth had been a tad optimistic when she pronounced she could walk as a few steps on the uneven ground made her throw up.

“Come on Elizabeth. We do not have all day.”

Elizabeth straightened and threw Wickham a glare worthy of a Darcy. 

“Where are you taking me?”

Neither Wickham nor Hamad answered but kept on walking.  
Elizabeth stopped and sat down on the ground as her head kept spinning. Wickham immediately noticed, turned back, grabbed her arm and practically pulled her along until they reached the car on the road. It was Hamad's old Toyota and for moment, Elizabeth thought that she saw Darcy within it.  
Her disappointment was great when the man in the car turned out to be two Yemini men she hadn’t seen before.   
She was wedged in the middle of the backseat, between the two unknown while Hamad and Wickham took the front seats.  
They had hardly driven more than fifty metres before the rocking of the car made Elizabeth retch.  
Hamad pulled over and Elizabeth was pushed out of the car. Her nose started to bleed again, her abaya was already smeared so Elizabeth didn’t think much of adding a few droplets of blood when Hamad handed her some paper tissue. She thanked him and he went back into the car.

A quarrel in Arabic erupted in the car and Elizabeth silently prayed that they would shoot each other and leave her in peace.  
It was not to be though but she took immense pleasure in hearing Wickham being told off by Hamad for knocking her out cold.

In the end, it landed her a window seat which Elizabeth was thankful for. She rolled down the window and leaned her head outside, to not spoil the interior with her stomach contents should it turn out to be anything left. She had reverted to dry heaves only, it would seem but the cool wind felt somewhat refreshing in her face.

They drove for a couple of hours before Hamad wheeled off the road and into an even rockier terrain than the sorry excuse of a road they had left. Elizabeth was nothing but thankful when he parked the car after a blissfully short distance. The bad news was that they were not there yet, wherever there was.  
The topography made driving impossible, unfortunately, it was possible to walk. 

Elizabeth knew that she had a concussion and quite possibly a broken nose. Dehydration from throwing up added to her misery as she padded after the men with the arse hat Wickham strolling behind to cut off any escape route. Like she was in a condition to run when she could barely walk.

An eternity and a half later, they arrived at what Elizabeth could only describe as a hole in the ground. It was impossible to see if you didn’t know were to look or accidentally stumbled upon it. The men climbed in and Elizabeth could do nothing but follow with the fucktard pushing her from behind.   
Elizabeth felt her way from one crude step in the rock to the next. The men in front of her and the halfwit behind, all had flashlights but she didn’t.   
The ground flattened and at the end of the short corridor, the space widened out to a large room.  
Elizabeth counted nine shitlords in the room, in addition to the four assclowns that had accompanied her.  
She was ushered into a corner and ordered to sit down.

Her mood was at an all-time low, driven by fear, indisposition and longing. She was screwed and she knew it.  
‘What had possessed her to leave comfortable Longbourn to go trespassing around the globe in the first place? Right! Her sister was in deep shit and no one was looking for her.   
Only a half-truth of course, as the Interpol at least were searching for her with means Elizabeth could only dream of. What had she been thinking? Waltzing into foreign territory to retrieve her sister, what had she thought would happen?   
Here’s your sister, please leave.   
Well, that had happened when Mary had entered a welcome to the world party by a couple of atheist parents and tried to convince them to christen their child.’   
Elizabeth chuckled at the memory. Mary was nothing if not persistent in her preaching but at the end of the day, she meant no harm. There were some excess of bible quotes and lectures around the Longbourn dining table but she lived what she preached and she had loads of compassion for the less fortunate. Most importantly though, she didn’t condemn the ones that didn’t comply. Believing God to be the judge, not herself.  
Elizabeth scrutinised her own choices in the matter.   
‘Had her decision perhaps been influenced by other reasons than just finding her sister? Remembering the surprise visit from Darcy in Hemsedal. Scaring her witless by sneaking up on her, riling her anger before she had turned into a sobbing Valkyrie.   
Why he hadn’t turned his back on her, walked away and never looked back, was a mystery. He had seemed a mixture of eager and standoffish which had made her bewildered but when had her mind turned when in doubt into go for it.  
It was that je ne sais quoi, the Zsa Zsa Zoo that electrified the air between them. That pulled them towards each other, erasing every objection into subordinate matter.’

The conversations surrounding her didn’t penetrate Elizabeth’s ruminations but she ate automatically when flatbread and water were put before her.

***

Darcy suspected that the soldier that he now knew was named Hussein, would expect him to try something when darkness fell.  
He stayed put, fighting off sleep but determined to wait until dawn broke to make his move. He hadn’t undressed but lay high strung on the bed until the first rays of light, filtered through the window.  
Stealthily, he left the house and climbed down the terraces to the road.

He searched for a while before he found Hussein’s hidden jeep.  
He had nicked a knitting needle who he had bent at the end and pushed it down between the window and the door. Yanking upwards, the lock gave away and he opened the door. Hunching down, he pulled off the plastic cover under the steering wheel, exposing several wires. Touching the two matching red wires together, the ignition was on and the dash lit up. He crossed the brown lead with the reds and the starter motor kicked off the engine. He was in business within less than sixty seconds. 

Darcy drove off, heading east. His first hurdle would be the checkpoints.   
On the front seat were some papers that looked similar to the ones Hamad presented when they crossed. The officer at the checkpoint barely glanced at the paper and waved him through.   
Darcy was so relieved he laughed out loud which embarrassed him but luckily no one was there to notice.   
An hour later he passed the Red Cross camp were Aurora worked. He hoped he wasn’t causing her or Marius to much trouble by running away, hijacking military property.  
He was on an insane mission but he had no choice. To sit back and let other people tend to his realm was not within his powers. Being a man of action rather than reflection was his forte as much as his curse.

He drove another hour and more when he suddenly got the sensation that he had gone too far. It was nothing in the vicinity that suggested it but rather a guttural feeling that he needed to go back.  
He turned and drove for fifteen minutes when he saw a flatness in the landscape at his right side. He couldn’t tell if anyone had driven there but it looked like it could be possible. He parked the car on the side of the road and walked out to see if he could find tracks from a car. The rock surface showed no signs but he had not expected it to. It was a sandy stretch, further up ahead that had caught his attention. When he got there, the tire marks were easy to spot in the sand. He walked back to the jeep and drove it far off the road to the left side. Hiding it behind a rock formation. The jeep would come in handy for their escape which was as far as Darcy had been able to plan, knowing nothing of what he could expect or even if he was at the right location. 

He found the tracks and walked in the direction they led. It wasn’t too difficult to find Hamad’s Toyota as he hadn’t tried to conceal it but the barren landscape didn’t offer much towards what direction he should proceed. He chose the direction which the front of the car was pointed. Not a scientific approach but one guess was as good as any other.  
A slight movement to the left made him automatically wheel a little off track. It might just be vapours created by the sun but he had no better idea. 

He was halfway there when it felt like he was attacked from all sides. Where his attackers had been hiding was a mystery but he felt one come up from behind, clamping his hand over his mouth. Another put a bag over his head and he was dragged over the rocks by his arms as soon as a gag was in place.

‘Fucking shit! Where had they all come from and who the hell were they. How was he supposed to rescue Elizabeth now?’

He came to an abrupt halt.

“Idiot, what do you think you are doing Darcy? You almost blew our cover.”

Darcy made some unintelligible noises with the gag still firmly lodged in his mouth.

“Right, I will remove the bag over your head and the gag if you promise to stay still and not shout when I do. You may nod once if you comply. If you do not follow orders after the sack and gag are removed, you will be shot without further warning. Is that understood?”

Darcy nodded and his head-cover and gag were removed.

The men surrounding him were soldiers dressed in desert camouflage. Recognising several of their faces as his previous escorts, he was pretty sure he was dealing with the Houthi government’s military.   
The man who had spoken was the high ranking officer that had met them at the hotel when their protection had first been issued.

“Do you know where my wife is?” Darcy asked as calmly and with as low a voice as he could manage. 

“Yes. She is inside the cave with our man, Wickham and what we suspect are about ten al-Qaeda members.”

“When are you going in, may I accompany you?”

“No, we are not going into the cave. We have no notion of the layout nor the exact number of enemies inside.”

“Are we just supposed to sit here and wait?”

“Yes, they have to come out sooner or later. We could just throw a grenade down the entrance but that would destroy any evidence.”

“No, there has to be another way... What if I ran headless around, screaming for Elizabeth. It would get them out of there, wouldn’t it?”

“Perhaps a few but it would blow our cover and make the rest of them barricade themselves and we would have to go in and fight them on their premises. Exactly what I was trying to avoid.”

“Not necessarily. I could work alone. No need for them to see you. If I fired shots in the air, it might even persuade a few more to come looking, don’t you think?”

“I’ll think about it.”

Several officers pulled away in quiet conference. Darcy fought for composure as they settled amongst themselves, the fate of his wife.  
Every second in their vicinity gave them more time to inflict injury. ‘No, he wouldn’t allow his mind to wander down that route. It was of no use at the moment.’

“Okay, we will let you have your suicide mission. The soldiers will get in position behind and on the sides of the entrance. You will be the only fool in front. Do you understand what you are letting yourself in on.”

“Yes. If it were your wife, you would have done the same.”

“No I would not but that is an entirely different matter. Be my guest, the soldiers are in their position. You may find yours at your leisure.”

Darcy walked towards his goal with his eyes mainly on the entrance of the cave. He couldn’t see the soldiers but had a reasonable idea of where they were. His precarious position dawned on him as he was not only putting himself in the terrorists' line of fire but that of the soldiers as well.   
Finding his perfect base was essential if he was to stand any chance at all.

Darcy positioned himself at a good distance behind some low rocks that would do as protection if he needed to throw himself to the ground but first, he would run towards them. Playing the desperate husband that he needed no acting skills to perform.   
He had been handed a small pistol of questionable origin but it would do for firing into the air.   
He had been told not to fire in the direction of the soldiers which pretty much left him with the above.  
Breathing deeply he sent a silent prayer towards the sky. Something he hadn’t done since the Netherfield gala. He included the promise of more diligence in that respect if he and his wife should pull threw, against all odds.   
Maudlin thoughts entered his mind while he steeled himself.   
He had no way to send a last goodbye to his sister and he had never told Elizabeth that he loved her.  
In his innermost self, he believed she already knew but it would have given him peace to have said it out loud.

Darcy breathed deeply before he screamed at the top of his lungs for Elizabeth. He started towards the entrance but there was no movement, no reaction, no nothing.   
He fired the pistol twice in the air. It was quiet for about a minute before all hell broke loose.   
Men welled up from the ground, shots pierced the air but no Elizabeth. He flung himself to the ground but crawled to see if Elizabeth was coming, she was not.  
The fire stilled, he waited and waited but he could hear no sounds except for the wind.  
Eventually, he braved lifting his head above the stones in front of him. He counted five men on the ground, the battle was by no means over when he spotted a curly brown head, emerging from the ground entrance. At her temple, the barrel of a gun glinted in the sun. Behind her was Wickham, holding the offending object to his wife’s head. 

Darcy arms fell along his sides. The gun dropped to the ground by no conscious thought but by the listlessness that wrapped his body.  
Elizabeth nose was swollen and blood-soaked the front of her abaya but what struck him the hardest was the fear in her eyes.

“I love you,” he mouthed. Afraid you raise his voice.   
She mouthed it back to him and his heart soared for a frantic moment before reality descended on him. 

He heard a shot, it sounded like it came from far away but suddenly Wickham sank to his knees and Elizabeth was suddenly running towards him.   
Darcy could see that Wickham was raising his gun taking aim at his wife. A shot ripped through the air.  
In Darcy’s mind, Elizabeth were hit and dropped to the ground, drawing her last breath. The impact was instant and profound, Darcy hit the ground and wondered if he had been shot as well or if it was grief.  
I took him an eternal moment to realise that Elizabeth had kept running and hit him with a force that toppled them over. He immediately rolled himself over her body, trying to hold some of his weight off her while searching frenetically for a gunshot wound. 

“Are you shot Elizabeth?”

“No, not as far as I know.”

Darcy chuckled slightly. 

“I think you would know Elizabeth. But, I heard a shot and Wickham was aiming at you, I was certain he fired. Are you hurt? Did they injure you?”

“Wickham punched me and knocked me out cold but that was yesterday. I am fine now.”

Darcy looked up and Hamad stood bent over Wickham’s lifeless body, checking for a pulse. His eyes met Darcy’s and he gestured for them to move away but he didn’t dare to move.

Hamad came over, grabbed Darcy by the arm and hoisted him up.

“Get her out of here,” he hissed and Darcy’s survival instinct kicked in.

He helped Elizabeth to her feet and they crept towards the road. Nobody tried to stop them. Another round of shooting ensued and the Darcy’s ran.   
They ran passed Hamad’s Toyota towards the road when Darcy's gut feeling told him to stop. He turned back to the Toyota and found that the keys were left in the ignition. Elizabeth started retching so Darcy made a split-second decision. It probably would be easier to get to the airport in a civil car as opposed to a stolen military vehicle.

“I am so sorry I forced you to run in your condition.”

“Never mind, I’ll be fine. Just a little winded and I probably have a small concussion.”

“You should be resting but there is no time... We will hide you in the back of the car. I don’t have your papers.”

“I do, I think. Hamad shoved some papers in my pocket as we left. It looks like the papers he has been handing to the officers at the checkpoint. I cannot be certain as my Arabic is nothing to write home about.”

A large explosion ripped through the air and made ground quiver beneath their feet. They felt the blast wave pass them and it rained pebbles around them. 

“Let’s go!   
Tell me if you get too uncomfortable but I am getting out of here as soon as humanly possible.”

“I love you, William.”

“I love you Elizabeth. Hold on tight because I am going to step on it.”

Darcy drove as he had stolen the car.  
They reached the small village where Mary was in a record-breaking one and half hour.

Mary was feeling a little bit better but still needed to be carried down most of the terraces. Darcy took the heavy end of the throw they carried her in while Marius and Jaden shared the other.

Marius and Jaden had agreed to come with them to Sana’a and to bring the stolen Toyota back to Eternal with a donation for the loan.  
Darcy had one last favour to ask of Marius, to borrow his phone. They drove to a height were Marius sometimes could get a signal and they were in luck. Darcy called Mr Mogalli to make immediate travel arrangements. Using the sick Mary as an excuse for their abrupt departure. Marius tapped him on the shoulder while he spoke and pointed between Mary and himself. Darcy changed his story in the last second from Mary being a missionary to a Red Cross aid. Marius even wrote a note to confirm their claim.  
Darcy didn’t want to risk anything by driving by the hotel to get their luggage. He arranged for them to be sent home but he didn’t have much hope for it to actually occur.

It was the afternoon when they reached Sana’a airport with an hour to kill before the plane left.  
Elizabeth changed her bloodied abaya with a clean one and tied a hijab around her head. Darcy had had the foresight of bringing the overnight bag that Elizabeth brought from the hotel. It was a blessing that Elizabeth was a heavy packer, preferring to bring clean clothes home rather than go without on a trip.

A nurse was waiting for them at the check-in and Mary was given IV fluids before her trip to Riyadh.  
It was a twelve-hour wait to get from Riyadh to London but they didn’t dare wander the streets nor check in to a hotel. 

The plane left early in the morning. Elizabeth gave up her favourite window spot to her exhausted sister. The antibiotics were working its magic but the toll that the travelling had taken on Mary was concerning.

Elizabeth cuddled up in the crook of Darcy’s arm, they had barely let each other go since the shooting.   
She was drifting into sleep when a thought jolted her awake.

“William?”

“Mhm?”

“Where is your phone?”

“The officer took it, I’ll explain later,” he whispered in her ear.

“But... the pictures?”

“I deleted them before I went to the caves.”

“You think of everything. Too bad really. I kind of liked them...”

“I sent them to your phone before I deleted them. I hope your phone is password protected and that none of your sisters know it?”

“Yes, of course, I have a password. Besides, Richard has my phone. He was the last person I saw before we left.”

Darcy tried to stiffen a groan. He hoped his curious cousin had some decency left in him but he wasn’t too confident...


	14. Homecoming

Chapter 14 Homecoming 

Darcy, Elizabeth and Mary were met at the airport by an ambulance and Mary was immediately put on IV fluids and rushed to the Hospital of Saint John and Saint Elizabeth.  
Elizabeth expected them to hire a black cab or something but she was ushered into a waiting Jaguar with a private chauffer after they had retrieved Mary’s suitcase. 

“Elisabeth, this is Mr Reynolds. He is Pemberley’s head of security and our knight in shining armour. Thank you for bringing my car, Graham. This is my wife Elizabeth.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr Reynolds.”

Pleasantries out of the way, Mr Reynolds had a lot of questions but he also brought his employer a new phone which Elizabeth utilized to inform her father where they were while Darcy called his sister and Richard. The latter, he wanted to meet them at the hospital but he was occupied elsewhere. 

“I totally forgot to mention that Mary might know where the explosives are hidden.  
There is an old bunker on the Netherfield beach. The roof caved in a couple of decades ago but according to Mary, the entrance is still intact.   
I have reason to suspect that the two-component military explosive might be hidden there but I cannot be certain...”

“I will see to it, Mrs Darcy. I will put someone on it as soon as I have parked the car. Here we are by the way.” Mr Reynolds jumped out to open the car door for Elizabeth, such a gallant man. No wonder Aisling had fallen in love with him. Elizabeth felt that the issue of the explosives were safe in his hands.

Elizabeth was immediately taken to an exam room under heavy protests. She wanted to see her sister while Darcy wanted Elizabeth to undergo a thorough exam. Darcy won since Mary was being tested and would not be able to receive visitors for a while. 

Luckily, Elizabeth’s nose wasn’t broken, only sprained. She suffered a mild concussion and bedrest was ordered until the headache and dizziness disappeared. She should still not exert herself much but take it slow. Fortunately, the nausea was gone.   
She was released to the watchful care of her husband who took this assignment very seriously as Elizabeth would later experience.

The Bennet’s descended on the hospital by the time Mary was done with the testing and had been admitted. The cackle of voices made Elizabeth‘s head pound, Darcy made a hasty goodbye and they retreated to Darcy’s townhouse in Mayfair.  
Elizabeth had been surprised at their wedding, first and foremost because Darcy actually had an entire house in London’s most fashionable area which was practically unheard of. Nobody owned a house in the centre of London, they had luxury apartments, if they were lucky.

The crisp white exterior made a starch contrast to the warm colours that met her on the inside. The foyer had checkered floors, dark wooden walls and warm brown leather furniture. It felt warm and welcoming compared to the stiff exterior. The house was as much of an conundrum as the owner.

She hadn’t seen the bedroom before. Their wedding had been held on the ground floor with the kitchen, three lounges and a formal dining room.

The bedroom was decorated in soothing greys with a massive bed as its focal point. Spacy and sparsely furnished.  
Elizabeth padded wearily to the bathroom for a quick shower and to brush her teeth, so tired that she barely noticed the black marble floors. Although she did notice the elevated, massive Jacuzzi that had its own black marbled plateau, could easily fit four adult men while she could probably swim a couple of strokes across it but that would have to wait.   
Darcy went to the bathroom as soon as she finished and Elizabeth tucked herself in and made herself comfortable. She would be asleep in seconds if she had closed her eyes but sleep was currently not on Elizabeth’s mind.

Darcy sauntered in his Calvin Klein boxers, a tad disappointing as Elizabeth had hoped he would wear nothing at all but it was not a problem that wasn’t easily fixed.

Elizabeth turned towards him as he lay down. He gave her quick peck on the lips.

“Sweet dreams Elizabeth, you need your rest.”

He moved away and turned his back on her.

That Elizabeth was suffering another disappointment would be the understatement of the year. 

‘Finally alone, after days of fear and gruelling travel and he didn’t even want to cuddle?   
Well, she was a girl of the internet era. Stumbling upon a guy on YouTube that had a vlog with do’s and don’ts while kissing.

Elizabeth’s curiosity won out and the video had been enlightening. When it ended it had switched to the video next in line which was the ten most erogenous zones on a mans body.   
Elizabeth had been relieved that feet were not on the list. Rather surprising compared to what Elizabeth would have guessed but the man mentioned it specifically as one of the known facts that very few men actually mentioned on their lists.  
Elizabeth hated feet, including her own and the thought licking or suckling someone else’s toes made her shudder.’

She scooted closer and ran the back of her foot up his calf while her thigh grazed the back of his.   
The vlog had said that the back of a mans leg was an erogenous zone but not specified on the exact area so Elizabeth opted to err on the safe side.   
She let her finger stroke lightly, the top of his hand before lowering it to the stomach beneath the belly button. His skin was so soft, like a new-born babe and hairless as opposed to his chest. Her hand moved upwards. Took a detour dipping into his belly button before it followed the patch of hair, up to his chest. Darcy had tensed up but that did not stop her explorations.   
She scooted herself higher up on the bed to access his ear and let her breath waft over his lobes while her hand played with the hair between his nipples. Totally innocently, of course. 

“Elizabeth? What are you doing?”

“Just exploring...”

Elizabeth let her hand slip downwards to the softness of his belly.

“Did you know that you do not have hair here? Your skin is so soft...”

Her fingertips left a white-hot trail to prove her point.  
She raised herself on her elbow to access his neck.

“Here as well,” she said as she lowered her mouth to his clavicle bone and let her tongue travel to the pulse point where she let her lips rest a little before she suckled him lightly.  
She knew she was gaining the upper hand when he bent his neck to give her better access.

“Elizabeth, you really should rest. The doctors said you should be on bed rest until your headache subsided.”

“I am resting in bed. Despite the fact that I do not have a headache. I have a heartache though. It is aching to be close to you, to feel your skin against mine, to make love to you,” Elizabeth whispered as she slipped lower. Her hand moving to his side, slid over his taught derrière to the back of his thigh before she let it trail upwards on the soft skin on the inside of his thigh. 

“You do not know what you are doing to me Elizabeth.”

“I believe I do...”

“But the physician said that...”

“We'll take it slow. I'll just lay completely still while you work your magic. I'll be resting in bed, just what the doctor ordered.”

Darcy chuckled while he nuzzled her neck, slid off his boxers and moved on top of her naked body.

“You have a high, unfounded confidence in my self-restraint, I am not so sure though.”

Darcy managed to take it slow, despite his own misgivings on the matter. Painstakingly slow as Elizabeth spread her legs wide to take him deeper within. Tongues battled for superiority while hands were roaming. His restraint ended when Elizabeth suckled his tongue, he thrusts became deeper and harder but Elizabeth had one more ace up her sleeve.  
Sensing him being close to completion, she grabbed his thumb and suckled it hard.  
His world exploded in a frenzied haze of thrusts, throbbing and dancing stars while Elizabeth groaned and met his pace with fierce determination.   
Collapsing on top of her, he could feel her pulsating around him. He lay still and savoured the feeling until he drifted off to sleep, utterly spent.

***

The door slammed against the wall. Elizabeth squinted her eyes but closed them rapidly as the daylight were a bit too bright.  
She struggled to breathe as the covers were up over her nose. She wished that they had covered her eyes as well, to fend off the sunlight but recycling her own breath was not particularly pleasant. If only she could find the energy to pull the cover down...

“Brother! I didn’t know you were home before I saw your shoes in the foyer. I had to come and see for myself... Are you back for good this time?”

Elizabeth lay completely still in hope of getting through this awkward moment undetected.  
Darcy groaned and flipped down the cover to extract his hands to rub his eyes. Georgiana gasped and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door carefully.

“What!”

“I believe your sister is not used to you having company, William...”

“G was here?”

“Yes, blissfully unaware of my presence until you pulled down my cover.”

“Sorry!”

Darcy accentuated his regret with little nibbles down her neck when someone had the temerity to knock on the door with such force that it rattled the windows. 

“Get decent Darcy! I am opening this door in three seconds.”

“Go away you filthy animal,” Darcy yelled back at his cousin but Richard only laughed and did what he had threatened.

“Seriously Darcy, it’s nearly noon! Get up, we have work to do.”

“No!”

“I'll just rip off your covers then, that will surely chill you enough to want to get dressed.”

“You do that and I will have to kill you, Richard.”

“Elizabeth! I didn’t see you there...”

“Georgiana didn’t fill you in?”

“No, I haven’t seen her yet. Please tell me you did not traumatise my little ward with any rumpy-pumpy.”

“Oh my lord, you have the filthiest mind on this side of the Atlantic. I believe she was just surprised to find my wife in my bed, asleep...”

“Get dressed, sanctimonious prig,” Richard grinned before he bent down and picked up something from the floor and tossed it in Darcy’s face. Turned and marched out of the room.

It was a Calvin Klein boxer...

“You should stay in bed Elizabeth, the doctor’s orders.”

Darcy’s insistence had Elizabeth out of bed and on her feet with alacrity.

“Not a chance. I will agree to rest on the sofa while we fill in Richard on the happenings. Besides, you haven’t told me what happened at the Red Cross camp yet and I want to know everything.”

A staring competition ensued and for a minute or two there was a tie but Darcy’s gaze slipped downwards for a split second, enough time for a smirk to develop on Elizabeth’s face. 

“I think I just won dibs on the bathroom...” She grabbed her overnight bag from the floor and sauntered to the bathroom. 

***

Richard really was a great guy, he had breakfast ready when they entered the kitchen and tossed Elizabeth her phone.

“I guess you have missed this. Nice outfit though.”

Elizabeth had none of her ordinary clothes with her so she wore what she had packed for Mary’s rescue mission. She wore a white jumpsuit with an open navy blue abaya.

“You have no idea, Richard.   
William, I will warn Leah, she should be filled in on some of the trouble we experienced so that she can make a qualified decision to stay or run.”

“You do that while I check the news. I wonder what happened to Hamad, Hussein and the soldiers. That blast must have caused some stir.”

The Darcy’s dug in while scanning and writing messages, north and south.

“Finish your surfing, I am dying to find out what trouble you managed to create in Yemen.”

“Patience Richard.   
I cannot find anything in the news, strange...”

“I am not surprised. I would not expect a front-page interview with the officer that was screwed by a London suit and his cute wife.”

“Neither would I but I would have thought that the explosion would have been mentioned, with some form of cover-up story.”

“You have to give me all the details Darcy.”

“I suspect Elizabeth might be better at describing the blast and the circumstances.”

Richard couldn’t quite conceal his surprise at Darcy’s bombshell.

“By all means, Elizabeth.”

“Well, I know from the explosion at Tuva's workplace in ninety-seven that the blast-wave travelled several kilometres and blew out a window in a hairdressing shop in a nearby city but that was roughly four hundred kilos of pure Nitroglycerin...”

Richard whistled at that amount.

“It is hard to tell how far away we were when it detonated but I would guess around one and a half kilometre but there were little obstacles to slow the blast wave down in the barren landscape of the mountain. It was a flat plateau with low rocks but no vegetation nearby. There were no inhabited areas for at least ten kilometres from where Hamad had parked the car so I guess it is possible that no one was around to tell the tale, except for the soldiers and al-Qaeda members.

We believe that Wickham had a small amount of the two-component military explosive with him. He smuggled it in by Mary’s toiletry which was one of the reasons he needed her there.   
It wasn’t much but if it was detonated within the confined space of the cave, it would have created more noise than actual damage. It was raining pebbles around us though, so I suspect there might have been other explosives stored in the cave. The explosion had a harsh edge, it sounded like TNT.  
I do wonder why nobody tried to stop us from running in the first place though. Hamad was pretty close...”

“Hamad was the one that urged me to run but I had expected the soldiers to shoot us, to be frank. I noticed that Hassan looked straight at us but he never lifted his gun or made any gestures to stop us.   
He said that Hamad was his man but I doubt he was a soldier... perhaps he was a snitch.”

“It is very likely we will never know.”

The threesome grew quiet.

“You will have to tell me everything from the start. Perhaps I can gleam some intelligence from your previous encounters.”

Darcy and Elizabeth told Richard almost everything that had happened. Finishing each others sentences, laughing at their follies and touching each other during the nerve-wracking bits.

“Wow, you make it sound like a hiking and sightseeing trip. I wish all my assignments were as pleasant...”

“I hardly think being kidnapped by terrorists pleasant but be my guest Richard. I have had enough excitement to last me a lifetime.”

“You never told me what happened Elizabeth.” Darcy steeled himself for the part that he dreaded the most to hear.

“Wickham and Hamad came in the morning. They talked a lot on their way up to the house and it was rather informative. Sound carries when it is quiet...  
I found out how Wickham got a journalist visa...”

“Really, what did he do? Bribe someone, steal someone’s identity?” Richard was full of inventive suggestions.

“Neither, he sold a picture, a juicy one he had taken the night he stole the explosives.”

“Really!”

“Yes. Mary believes that the rest of the explosives are in a bunker at the Netherfield beach. He must have snooped around after he had hid his treasure because he sold a picture of me and Darcy, in flagrante delicto...”

“I wouldn’t call it a crime to have... err uhm, to jump someone’s bones.”

“No, but it had a bit of evidence, visible on the picture.”

“I saw nothing out of the ordinary when I entered to fetch Darcy. Seriously, a bit of rope, cuffs or whatever isn’t such a shocker after the shady greys books...”

“It was blood.   
Obviously, virginity sells because he got visas, ID and a budget to go from it.”

“The bloody bastard, if he weren’t already dead, I would kill him.”

Darcy’s rant was cut off by his phone, ringing.

“What!” He exclaimed rather forcefully but moderated his answers rather quickly.

“Good! That’s a relief.” “Yes" “Sounds reasonable, thank you for calling me so promptly Graham. Let me know if there is anything I can do. Bye"

Darcy hang up and addressed his curious audience. 

“The explosives have been retrieved from the bunker entrance. It will be moved to a lab with a higher security level than Lebon. It means the end of your experiments Elizabeth.”

“My experimental days were over regardless. I was fired, remember?”

Darcy looked like he had actually forgotten as his ears pinked up.

“Sorry to deliver more bad news Elizabeth but I brought the divorce papers with me. Perhaps it is not too bad, I hope, knowing my dull cousin. You are probably so tired of him it will feel like a blessing.”

Richard laughed but his company didn’t join his mirth. 

“I do not think we need to deal with them right now Richard. In fact, I would like to burn them but Elizabeth and I need to talk first.  
Would you like to see Pemberley? There we can have some privacy without interfering cousins or sisters?”

“You want to go to your office?”

“Not that Pemberley. I meant my estate in Derbyshire, the original Pemberley that the company was named after.”

“I have to check up on Mary and get some clothes from Longbourn. All I have left is the clothes I am wearing now and the grey abaya from yesterday but that one need to be washed.”

“Your clothes are here Elizabeth. I brought them back from the hotel when you left. It is in the guestroom.”

Elizabeth jumped up, kissed Richard on the cheek and hurried down the hallway to the stairs, in search of her clothes.  
She understood that she had been politely dismissed. Richard was probably trying to talk some sense into his cousin but Elizabeth was not particularly worried.  
Richard did not know what they had experienced in the last few weeks, neither what had happened in the past.

Her suitcases were easily located and brought to Darcy’s bedroom.  
It was a warm, sunny day and Elizabeth chose a light linen dress with a cheeky low cut.  
On her way down, melancholy piano music drifted from the more formal lounge with a grand piano as its focal point.  
Tiptoeing, not to disturb the performance, she watched mesmerized until Georgiana had finished.

“That was absolutely beautiful and heart-wrenching. I have tears in my eyes...  
What was it?”

“It was Solveig’s song by Grieg. It is a song about waiting for a loved one but I do not sing.”

“You do not need to sing when you can play the piano so beautifully. Perhaps I can give it a go? May I see your notes?”

“Of course, here.”

Georgiana handed Elizabeth the notes and she studied them for five minutes. 

“Let’s try...”

“Elizabeth, I am sorry I burst in on you this morning.”

“Oh, it was nothing to apologise for Georgiana, I have four sisters. I am rather used to a sister or four, running through my bedroom in the mornings. Usually, to nick something, you were rather well behaved in comparison. Let’s play some music...”

Georgiana played and Elizabeth sang, fumbling a little in the beginning but soon got the hang of it. The beautiful tones caught the attention of the guys in the sitting room and they came to applaud when the song finished. 

“G, I need your protection. Would you serve as your old cousin's bodyguard and fend off some dragons?”

“I sincerely doubt that you need my protection against anything Rich.”

“One word G or actually two... Aunt Catherine!”

Georgiana laughed gaily.

“Afraid of an old woman Rich?”

“Yes, a dragon disguised as an old lady, mind you. If you could play something very loud on the piano every time our aunt mentions the word marriage, I will owe you a big favour.”

“Sure,” Georgiana said before throwing a coughing fit that sounded a lot like sissy. 

“We leave tomorrow. Be ready at noon. I got to go, Darcy?”

“Yes, I am coming. I am just spellbound by the performance.”

“Elizabeth, may I have a word in the office?”

“Certainly, lead the way.”

Darcy grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and walked her briskly to his home office. Kicked the door shut, wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her close and kissed her senseless while tracing his fingers down her exposed cleavage.

A Loud bang on the door made them jump apart.

“Are you coming, Darcy?”

“I have to give Elizabeth a few messages before we leave.”

“Strange, I couldn’t hear any talking and I have been standing outside the door for several minutes. Wrap it up Darcy, literally...”

“Sorry about that Elizabeth. My cousin is a shmuck. I thought we could get more done if we split up. There is a black cab in the driveway that is at your disposal for the rest of the day. I hoped that we could finish our most pressing matters today and go to Pemberley tomorrow. If that is alright with you?”

“Sounds great, I’ll do my best to get my chores done but it all depends on Mary’s condition.”

“Of course.”

A few more minutes of snogging ensued, five more loud bangs on the door later, Richard gave up, came into the office and physically dragged Darcy along, leaving a laughing Elizabeth behind.

***

Elizabeth went to the hospital to check up on Mary first.  
Although her prognosis was good, her recovery would be long. It would be days if not weeks before she could be released from the hospital.  
Elizabeth didn’t stay long in the overcrowded hospital room of siblings, parents and friends. Fanny Bennet was in the centre of attention, loving every moment of ushering people to and fro the hospital bed, to limit Mary’s exposure and keep her from tiring out.  
Comforted by the notion that her sister was well taken care off, she stole away with Charlotte who happened to visit Mary as well.  
Charlotte had some juicy news on her own, having accepted a proposal of marriage from Bill Collins.

“That was swift,” Elizabeth mused out loud before she could help herself. 

“Says she who married within a week of courtship... I guess you will be divorced just as swiftly and start looking for a job?”

Elizabeth grew quiet and didn’t answer. 

“Surely, you haven’t fallen for him Elizabeth. You are wiser than that. Just make sure he pays you handsomely for your troubles so that you can finish your education without having to work on the side.”

Rarely had Elizabeth regretted being so open with her opinions to her best friend Charlotte as she was in that moment.

“We are going to Pemberley to sort out the details tomorrow. We had a lot of other, more pressing issues to tackle today.”

Elizabeth was conscious of omitting the truth and set her best friend up for a slight misunderstanding but she wasn’t ready to defend herself about matters she couldn’t put into words.

Instead, she focused on her friend and news from Lebon. Everyone was relieved that the thief had been caught and the explosives had been retrieved. Obviously, good news travelled as fast as bad once...


	15. Epilogue

Chapter 15 Epilogue 

The prenup was burnt the next day in a bonfire on the top of hill overlooking Pemberley.

The Darcys suffered a lot of bad press over the years.   
Darcy, for marrying too soon, too long, too low and losing his touch on the financial world of investment.   
Elizabeth got a lot of critic for not finishing school, not having a job but having too many kids and following her husband everywhere he went.  
They never once agreed to an interview which might have been the cause for the press relentless pursuit. 

The Darcys couldn’t care less. Darcy had the economical responsibility, Elizabeth handled the ecological aspect of Pemberley Investment's future projects. 

They found a likeminded soul in Bill Gates whom they cooperated with on many projects and later Greta Thunberg became a friend and consultant. 

Working side by side in all aspects of life knitted the two close together. Few outsiders were let into their private sphere and not once did they exchange a text nor an email. Preferring to hear the other’s voice or see their face by calling or face-timing.  
As business partners, best friends, lovers and parents, they had little need to socialize outside their inner circle of friends and family. 

A boy came along, six years into their marriage, followed by a brother two years later. It would be eight years before a surprise baby girl made their family complete. Maude was doted on by her two older brothers, Thorne and Carter but no one was so wrapped around her little finger as was her father. The little angel with a definite mischievous streak was never far from his side.

Jane and Bingley married a year after the Darcy’s. Beaten to the parson’s mousetrap by three months, as Charlotte had married Bill Collins.  
Bingley bought an estate but it was not Netherfield.   
He bought Longbourn with the clause that Mr Bennet would be welcomed to visit at any given time.  
He could frequently be spotted in the library, nursing a glass of Cognac in one hand and a book in the other by the Bingley’s wedding guests. Entering the business of wedding planning from A to Z worked out well for them while Mr Bennet claimed that Longbourn had never been so quiet, despite the drunken wedding revellers.  
They never did convince Randy Fenoli to open up a bridal boutique in Meryton though...

Mrs Bennet bought her longed for Ibiza apartment where Mr Bennet would occasionally visit. Lydia followed and ten years of heavy drinking and drug use took its toll before she finally realised that she wanted more from her life. She ended up as an aid worker in one of the Darcy’s many humanity projects, working alongside her sister Mary. Kitty preferred the joys of arranging weddings and worked for Jane and Charles.

In the end, it was Richard that ended up as Lebon’s new CEO after getting into trouble with his boss for a certain undercover operation in Yemen.

Hamad continues to drive people around in his old Toyota in Yemen while Leah has reunited with her parents and siblings in New York.

PS:  
Rumour has it that Caroline Bingley will be a contender in next years Love Island UK to further her new PR consultant business.   
The report seems to be confirmed by her frequent, recent visits to the plastic surgeons. She is no longer able to close her mouth...

The End


End file.
